During the KCYC, we met Johanna, with Potion Yarns, while we were at Momo’s Knitting Nook in Leavenworth, KS. She is a sweet, lovely, and creative woman, and I’m excited to share her story with you. She was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions, and I’m happy to share the interview with you.
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Please introduce yourself and share a bit about your background in yarn dyeing.
“I’m Johanna, wife, mom of two little boys, vintage-loving swing dancer, and obsessive messy crafter. My background as a hairstylist, and colorist in particular, really has helped me in my adventures of yarn dyeing. I worked behind the chair for 15 years as a stylist, specializing in corrective colors and wild, vivid rainbow shades, multi-faceted hair colors that had dimension, movement, and unique personality. While I loved doing hair, after more than a decade doing it, I was feeling burned out and like there was nowhere for me to go that fit with my priorities as a wife and wanting to start a family. My husband asked me to knit him something with the colors of a galaxy painting I had done for him and when I couldn’t find exactly the right yarn, he challenged me to dye my own. It was intended to be just a one-off project, but I fell down the rabbit hole and when my first attempt turned out pretty cool, but not exactly what I wanted, I was determined to learn from it and try again…and that led to more experiments, and ever more inspiration for new colors. I took an online dyeing class to feed my new obsession and decided to start a business. So, within 6 months of my first dye experiment, I set up a website and made my first sales. 3 years later, I quit the hair salon, now pregnant with my first child, and decided to keep my yarn business out of my home so I could stay home with our kids. I’ve now been in business for 8 years!”
What inspired you to become a yarn dyer?
“My husband! I have him to thank for asking for that first project and he always believed that I could learn to do this. Dyeing yarn is quite different from dyeing hair, but there are some similarities, especially the color theory and artistic side of it. I find yarn to be endlessly inspiring and there are a lot of ways that yarn is even easier to create on than human hair. Plus, it doesn’t talk back! I’ve been a knitter for over 15 years, and I also crochet and spin and my love of fiber arts has definitely inspired me. It helps me decide on colors and dye techniques when I consider whether or not I would want to knit with my yarns.”
Please walk us through your dyeing process. What materials and techniques do you use?
“My process is messy and not super regulated! I’m definitely one of those messy artists and I need to have my stuff all spread out around me to create. I play and make decisions as I go but I always record recipes and techniques so I can recreate results to get repeatable colorways (if I can’t repeat it, it sells as a one-of-a-kind batch or gets overdyed). I currently use acid and fiber reactive dyes because I focus on protein fibers (wool and animal products like silk). I find acid dyes to be the most vibrant, especially on superwash wool, silk, or nylon. I use a variety of techniques including kettle dyeing, hand painting (sometimes known as space dyeing), dip dyeing (or partial kettle dyeing), speckling, etc. Mostly I just tell people I work with lots of layers of colors, building dimension and vibrancy through the use of many rounds of color. I often combine techniques for a single skein, and I’m always playing around and experimenting with new ideas.”
What challenges do you face in the dyeing process, and how do you overcome them?
“Oh, so many over the years! I started my business in my tiny kitchen in Kansas City, Missouri; when we moved out to a house in Ottawa, KS three years ago, I had no idea that the change of water treatment in our small town would dramatically affect many of my longstanding dye recipes. I had a bit of a panic when I had yarns bleeding, dyes not setting properly, and favorite dye colors taking quite differently. It sent me down a path of research and much trial and error before I was able to teach myself enough chemistry to make some amendments to my tap water and correct the issues. Each city or municipality has different water sourcing and treatment so the chemicals they use in the treatment process affects the dyes. Changes to water can result in major changes to your recipes and results; in my case, it took almost a year to reformulate lots of my old recipes, even after I had figured out how to treat my water and make some adjustments to my techniques to compensate for the difference in water quality. But now, I’m even more confident in my dyeing because I learned so much science behind the problems I was having and how to anticipate and correct them. Now my recipes are better than ever and I’m even happier with my results!”
“I’ve had dye and yarn suppliers change formulations or discontinue products so that results in more reformulating and testing. One of my biggest ongoing challenges is finding the time and energy now that I’m a stay-at-home mom of two little kids under 5!”
“When I first started, speckling was the bane of my existence; but I kept with it and now it’s one of my favorite things and a compliment I get consistently is on the crisp quality of my speckled skeins. So, I’m learning not to freak out when I hit bumps in the road…often my failures lead me to learning and then I end up better than ever because of having to overcome the challenge.”
Where do you find inspiration for your yarn designs and colors?
“Everywhere! Seriously, once you start, you have to force yourself to stop trying to turn everything into yarn colors…at least I do! I often get inspired by colors in movies or shows, I love going to art museums for inspiration, and of course nature is the best place for inspiration. I love greens and browns but there are so many other colors in every element of nature if you look closely enough. I also find that I get inspired by scrolling Pinterest, decorating my home or going to antique stores and home decor stores, doing crafts with my kids, etc. I don’t just get inspired by visuals; I try to dye what I FEEL. So, if I listen to beautiful music, I try to recreate my feelings in shades and tones. If I have a particularly wonderful day with my family, I might try to capture the nostalgia and contentment in a cozy skein of gorgeous colors that recreate those emotions for me. That’s how I name my yarns too…I name them off of a feeling or vibe I’m trying to create, not necessarily what they technically look like.”
Are there any particular artists, nature elements, or cultures that influence your work?
“I grew up watching old movies (like 1930s-1970s old), so I often find inspiration from vintage films, my love of swing dancing, and antiques. I have a special love for the aesthetics of 1940s and 1950s culture but really can find a ton of inspiration from a variety of eras. I don’t think there are particular artists that repeatedly come up for me; I just like a variety. I do have yarns inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, Vincent Van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec. I am endlessly fascinated with Celtic history and mythology, so I have a lot of colors influenced by that. I love books and reading so I’ve found inspiration in the novels of Jane Austen, Tolkien, P.G. Wodehouse, and Gothic novels as well as others. And I’ve always had a bit of a witchy/mystical vibe, so I find things like apothecary shops, old books and journals, herbs and flowers drying from the ceiling, bubbling cauldrons, and Halloween very inspirational. I like dark things but not without the balancing light; so, I love witchy vibes and moody, Poe themes like mystery, horror, intrigue, etc. But I also like to find the hope, the joy, and light and brightness to balance those things. I don’t get into darkness for the sake of rebelling against the light. I think everything needs balance to be whole.”
How has the yarn community influenced your journey as a dyer?
“I have been so blessed to build a business from absolutely nothing, having no influence, and knowing nothing using the internet and largely social media. When I started, I joined a bunch of knitting and yarn groups on Facebook, started following yarn accounts and hashtags on Instagram and tried to just enter the conversation and engage in the community as much as I could, and it paid off. I even got asked to speak at several e-commerce workshops and classes at Kansas City’s entrepreneurial networking events which totally surprised me because I was all self-taught and lucky. However, over time the changes to the algorithms and the way the online market is changing are really making it hard to succeed and mostly leaving a bad taste in my mouth. It feels impossible to use only online marketing when you are a small company, so I’ve been really grateful for the yarn shops that have supported me over the years, buying wholesale, scheduling trunk shows, and promoting my work. I truly love working with them more than being in the online space anymore.”
“Several years ago, while I was still building my business, I faced some online bullying and mobbing when some trolls took offense at a video my husband and I had made encouraging people to stop mobbing those they disagreed with in the yarn community. We knew several indie dyers, designers, and yarn shop owners who were attacked online and kept out of a bunch of shows and we also faced some attacks from people looking for drama, resulting in us losing a bunch of business from yarn shows canceling us and wholesale accounts dropping us. While it stung and we went through some brutal months of soul-searching and finding ways to stay afloat, we came out of it stronger and with a wonderful clientele of loyal customers supporting us through it all. In all the nastiness that happened to us and others we knew personally online, every time I had an in-person event, show, or even one on one interaction, it was always nothing but pleasant, even joyful and uplifting.”
“ I can truly say the yarn community is full of wonderful, warm-hearted, creative people. It really taught me that so much online drama gets blown out of proportion and we can end up thinking everyone is rude, unkind, and bigoted; yet when you meet people face to face and come together over your shared community you see that we are really truly all one deep down. That we really do have more in common than what separates us and in-person interactions allows us to see the best in each other and inspires us to be our best selves. I think the internet is a wonderful, powerful tool that can bring us more community than we had before (I certainly wouldn’t have my business without it!); but it is so powerful that we are wise when we approach it with caution, use with discretion and limitations, and seek out in-person interactions as often as we can to remind ourselves that we are real, flesh and blood, complex human beings.”
“I absolutely love going to shows, yarn events, and classes because I get to interact with people who “get” my passions and love to be there too. It is so exciting to share patterns, ideas, yarns, and tips with each other and I always come away full of ideas, inspiration, and excitement to create even more! I get so many ideas for dye recipes from talking to customers and people in yarn shops and at shows.”
What advice would you give to someone interested in starting their own dyeing business?
“Just jump in and play! There is always more to learn, more ways to level up your knowledge and skills but don’t let a lack of knowledge stop you from playing. Fiber arts are supposed to be fun! It’s only yarn, so if you hate it, you can give it away, overdye it (black speckles fix almost anything), or if it’s truly awful or melted, you can throw it away. When I started, I would have advised really engaging in online communities via social media; and that is still helpful to do. But nowadays I definitely advise seeking out yarn shops, podcasters, and others in the yarn community to build a relationship with. Give away yarns you’ve dyed to podcasters, knitalong giveaways, wool swaps, etc. to get your products out there and reviewed, constantly ask those already successful in the business for advice or feedback, and never be afraid to change up what you are doing to grow into the next phase of yourself. There are some excellent new books and YouTube channels out now that offer so much more information for those willing to take the time to learn it and there’s more coming every day. You don’t have to commit to this being a business forever; you can start small, try things out, pivot as you learn what works, and either keep growing it or choose to walk away and just dye for yourself and for fun if it doesn’t work out the way you want.”
Are there any resources that you would recommend for aspiring dyers?
“There are bunches of Facebook groups for yarn dyers, some of them exclusively for those in business (but your business can be tiny and just starting or big and well established) but some are for hobby dyers. Alanna Wilcox has excellent resources, and I highly recommend her classes, books, and Facebook group for learning and growing your skills, both for newbies and experienced dyers. I loved Felicia Lo‘s book on dyeing and spinning and all of her info can be applied to spinning fiber or yarns. Rebecca at the ChemKnits YouTube channel is so much fun and really approachable; I find her videos really great for beginners because they are so carefree and she teaches you good basics and rules that will help with the science of dyeing without getting too granular or technical and she is so great at showing you how to play with yarn and have fun and experiment.”
What trends are you noticing in the yarn dyeing world?
“I really see more and more demand for really subtle tonals, which I describe as dimensional blends of one color family. So, a green skein but if you look closely it undulates between light and dark, might have lots of different shades of green present. I see a lot of sophisticated designs, intricate stitches and colorwork but even in simple patterns, a desire for really beautiful, chic projects you can wear with a lot of different things.”
What’s next for you? Any upcoming projects or new product lines you can share?
“Not at the moment. I’m currently navigating some tough personal stuff and seasons in my family where I’m needing to pace myself and allow myself time to process some tragedies and difficult circumstances. I’m so grateful to my loyal fan base and yarn shops that are supporting our family and rooting for us. As far as new projects, I’m definitely getting more into dyeing combed top for my spinners, needle felters, and mixed media crafters. I love dyeing beautiful fluffy fibers and there are so many exciting possibilities in a braid of cotton candy-like fluff! I’m most excited about deep, rich jewel tones like greens, sapphire, pumpkin, burgundy, and gold so I’ve been playing with some of those shades. I’m also planning to translate some of my best-selling variegated yarn colors into spinning fibers over the next few months!”
How can readers support your work? Do you have a website or social media where they can connect with you?
“The very best way to stay updated on my work going forward is to sign up for my email newsletter. There’s a sign up link at the bottom of the homepage on my website, www.potionyarns.com. Newsletter sign-ups receive behind-the-scenes glimpses, sneak peeks of new releases, news about shows and events, exclusive coupons and discounts, and the opportunity to weigh in and vote on new colors or yarn lines, color names, etc. You also get a bit more insight into my family and how I do what I do. I’m also on Facebook and Instagram as Potion Yarns. And I read every email and respond if you want to reach out directly to me at johanna@potionyarns.com.”
Potion Yarns
http://www.potionyarns.com
Johanna@potionyarns.com
Johanna, thanks so much for answering my questions. Be sure to stop by Potion Yarns’ website and check out the yarn for yourself – you won’t regret it!
Thanks for spending time with me today.
~ Belle
P.S. Hello there! I’m Belinda’s daughter, Rio, and it has been myself and the shawl I made from Potion Yarns’ Foxy Sock yarn you’ve seen throughout this post. I wanted to share a couple of hands-on tidbits from working on this project. The pattern I used was The Unraveled Mitten’s “Spring Fling Triangle Shawl” which you can grab for free on their page. The colorway of yarn I used was “My Parrot Swears” which fits me far too well – both in name and in colors.
This was actually my first time working with fingering weight/sock yarn, as I had only really worked with worsted and above before this. Johanna’s yarn was a dream to work with! I never had a single issue while crocheting with this gorgeous yarn, and it really opened me up to wanting to do a lot more with this weight of yarn in the future. In upcoming blog posts you might see even more things I’ve made with yarn I purchased during the Kansas City Yarn Crawl. Stay tuned!
