It is still very cold (last night -20 actual temp, today about -8). Since I had a whole day and nothing to do, I thought I would do some kool-aid dying.
EASY STEP BY STEP KOOL-AID DYING METHOD
1. You will need white or cream colored yarn. I used some Lion Wool that I got on sale for $2.50 last summer (yeah, $2.50 wool).
2. Unskein the yarn and make a large loop. I used my laundry drying rack for this step, but you could use a person. Just have them hold their arms roughly 36 inches apart.
3. Tie the loop of yarn in four places. I used a colored bit of yarn so you can see. Using ties on the yarn like this will keep it from getting tangled.
4. Wash the yarn is warm water with no-rinse wool wash. This does two things. First, it washes your wool, and second, it opens the fibers so they will soak up more dye. Do not swish the wool around a lot. A gentle swish and 30 minute soak should do the job.
5. Place yarn in microwave safe dish. Place the yarn is such a way that it is mostly in one layer with no overlap.
6. Mix one packet of Kool-aid powder with 8 oz. of water per ounce of wool. I had 3 1/2 0unces of wool per skein and I used three packages of Kool-aid and three cups water.
7. Pour the Kool-aid over the wool. You can pat the wool down so that it is compleatly covered with Kool-aid; however, I like lighter colors and white bits to be in the yarn. To do this, just pour the Kool-aid over the yarn without making sure all the wool is covered. The wool will soak up lots of dye in the microwave, and you will get a more "kettle dyed" effect in your yarn.
8. Microwave on "high" for 2 minutes and let rest for 2 minutes. If the water still has a lot of Kool-aid in it, microwave for 2 minutes again (letting the wool rest for 2 minutes). The water should be clear, or only lightly murky. The dye should be trapped in the wool.
Pre-microwave
Post microwave (yeah, it is a different color)
9. Gently dry your lovely yarn.
The blue is Blue Rasberry Lemonaid, the purple is Grape, and the red is a two tone effect (that does not show up at all in the photos) with Strawberry and Black Cherry. It is much prettier in real life.
2. Unskein the yarn and make a large loop. I used my laundry drying rack for this step, but you could use a person. Just have them hold their arms roughly 36 inches apart.
3. Tie the loop of yarn in four places. I used a colored bit of yarn so you can see. Using ties on the yarn like this will keep it from getting tangled.
4. Wash the yarn is warm water with no-rinse wool wash. This does two things. First, it washes your wool, and second, it opens the fibers so they will soak up more dye. Do not swish the wool around a lot. A gentle swish and 30 minute soak should do the job.
5. Place yarn in microwave safe dish. Place the yarn is such a way that it is mostly in one layer with no overlap.
6. Mix one packet of Kool-aid powder with 8 oz. of water per ounce of wool. I had 3 1/2 0unces of wool per skein and I used three packages of Kool-aid and three cups water.
8. Microwave on "high" for 2 minutes and let rest for 2 minutes. If the water still has a lot of Kool-aid in it, microwave for 2 minutes again (letting the wool rest for 2 minutes). The water should be clear, or only lightly murky. The dye should be trapped in the wool.
Pre-microwave
The blue is Blue Rasberry Lemonaid, the purple is Grape, and the red is a two tone effect (that does not show up at all in the photos) with Strawberry and Black Cherry. It is much prettier in real life.
Soft, pretty colors
I used yellow, blue, and pink. I would have like to see more bleeding between the colors to add some pretty purple and green. I am really pleased. Now, I am just waiting for it to dry so I can make some pretty mittens.