Kool-Aid Dyeing, First Attempt

I attempted to dye a skein of white yarn with Kool-Aid yesterday.  It was a fun experiment, even if it didn’t turn out as well as I hoped.  But that’s my fault.  I thought I had a skein of Lion Wool, and it turned out to be Wool-Ease.  As we know, acrylic doesn’t take dye, so the colors are muted – but still pretty.

I looked up several different methods of dyeing and combined them.  For instructions, check out:
Knitty’s Instructions
More Instructions from Knitty
Wool Festival’s Instructions
Color Chart 

I used Mandarina Tangerine, Lemon Lime, and Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade.  I wanted a variegated skein of yarn, and getting this using the microwave method was a little tricky.

I unwound the skein around the backs of two chairs to form a long loop.  I tied the skein in three places so it wouldn’t tangle.  After soaking in a little soap, I rinsed the yarn in cool water.  I used one packet of Kool-Aid per jar of water, but next time I think I will try two packets for a rich, saturated color.  I mixed the Kool-Aid with a little water in the jars, divided the yarn between them, and added enough water to fill them.  Stirring the yarn in the jars this way was a little tricky.  I think next time I want variegated yarn I will try the stovetop method or hand-painting. 

I had to carefully rotate the yarn between 2-minute stints in the microwave to dye all of it.  The sections that were exposed did develop a different texture, but it’s not noticeable now that it’s all wound in a ball.

Then I let the yarn soak and absorb all the color.  The water ended up nearly clear once it was cool.  Then it’s time to let it dry!

  

The yarn dried a little lighter than it was when it came out of the rinse.  It’s very pretty, though.  My daughter has requested that I make a purse for her out of it.