Everyone has his own handpainting and hand-dyeing technique for yarn and fiber.
But when it’s rinsing time, we are all afraid to become eligible for the “Best Felter of the Season Award”.
[This is even more annoying if we think about how difficult it is to obtain a good felt, when we want to.]
Early in my career I unwittingly produced many despicable pieces of felt, that were fortunately unique, unrepeatable and unrecyclable even as real felt – especially because to me Felting is an art, and not a depository for failed projects.
Now I know. There are some simple rules to respect.
First rule:you must have time and patience. If I haven’t enough time, I don’t start painting. I will do that in a better moment.
Second rule: concentrate on every single action you are doing. You might be thoughtful and do something wrong – maybe squeezing? or opening hot water and putting in the yarn?
If you can respect these first two rules, you are on the right way to success.

Now let me suggest you my rinsing procedures to achieve a perfect result.

If you dyed using microwave oven:

• Put your hot masterpiece (still wrapped in plastic) in an empty bowl and let it cool slowly. DO NOT ADD water and wait hours until fiber / yarn has cooled completely.
• Open plastic wrap carefully and indirectly pour a small quantity of water (just enough to cover) at the same temperature reached by the fiber. Let it rest without squeezing.
• Rinse and repeat the whole operation as many times as needed.

As a final touch, I use my fiber conditioner, whose recipe and instructions are here.

If you dyed in a pot:

• Let fiber cool in its water completely.
• Transfer the fiber into a bowl containing enough water to cover it. Water and fiber temperature must be the same
• Rinse and repeat the operation as suggested before.
• Use the conditioner if you want.

Warning: don’t worry if the fiber should drain color during the first two rinsings, don’t squeeze it to eliminate color. You should better change the water some more times, but always let the fiber rest some time in its water.
And remember that the longer your fiber rests after being dyed and before being rinsed, the better its colors are fixed.
Good luck!