Dyeing in a catering pan

I got a message from a wonderful woman on Ravelry, about how to dye roving in the oven. This is valuable information to share, because, as I have mentioned before, dyeing in anything other than a mason jar or small steamer or pot is unpublished. So, thanks again Susan. The following instructions are me paraphrasing her:

1. Dye in half-size catering stainless steel pans that are 4 inches deep. You can find them at a restaurant supply, relatively inexpensive. 1 pan holds about 2.2 lbs of fiber.
2. Soak the roving in plain water, lay them in the pans and pour dye over them. It’s important to get the dyes through all the layers, so lift up some of the wool and pour dye on the lower levels and work your way upwards to the top layer.  If the pan is not running with dye water, the wool will soak up the colors next to it. The colors will blend where there are color changes, and the results are always interesting. Colors do not need to be analogous. Experiment with it, and not just the colors you think should blend well.
3. After the dye is applied, use a citric acid solution. You can get the acid powder at Dharma Trading Company in 5 lb (or more) bags. 6 Tbs to 1 gallon. It turns out to be much cheaper than vinegar and it has no smell.
4. Bake at 165 degrees for 1 hour 45 minutes from a cold oven to turning it off.

The key to good lasting dye is to let the item cool slowly. It seems to give it extra time for the wool to soak in.

I would like to add that, I dyed my cottons and linens this past summer in a long wrapping paper storage bin. It didn't involve heat, just a 24 set before rinsing. I did hand painting and laid the yarn, all the same pattern, side by side. I then covered the bin with its lid and let it set. It was a variation on what I had been doing, which was wrapping each skein in saran wrap. This saved loads of wrap and was just easier. Wrap does work if you are not dyeing in bulk.