Question about wool

[amberskyfire]

Our local organic cloth supply store sells huge bags of natural wool for really cheap, I think $8 or $10. I wanted to get into needle felting, but I could never afford the supplies. These bags of wool are very affordable, though.

I was wondering if you can dye wool with Kool-aid like you can playsilks. Will wool take the color? How do you dye it cheaply?

[feminist~mama]

You can absolutely dye wool with Kool Aid!

[amberskyfire]

Thanks! And do I to it the same way as silk? I'm assuming I can't put the wool in hot water. I just let it sit in the cold dye?

[feminist~mama]

I soak the wool for 30 minutes in cool water- or until I remember that I'm soaking it! Then I mix the kool-aid- I use more for vibrant colors, less for pastels. Generally I dye yarn, not wool, but I'd use 4-5 packages per 100 grams wool or so.

I put the wet wool on a pie plate, then pour the kool-aid mixture over it- I usually mix the kool-aid with about 4 cups of water. Then I stick it in the microwave for a couple minutes. I let it sit for a couple minutes, then gently move it about a bit, just to make sure that the color is getting through. I microwave it again for a few minutes, then let it sit. I repeat this cycle several times, until the water in the pie plate is clear/cloudy. Sometimes it doesn't become clear, but all of the color is gone and it's sort of cloudy white.

I let it cool in the pie plate until room temp, then do a cool water rinse.

HTH.

[jennydmother]

I see a lot of help here.