Kool Aid dyed wool (today)

[Moon Light Mama]

Hi mama's,

I spent some time today dying some wool, a soaker and some of the kids socks with kool aid. It was so much fun. Lakshmi has a pink soaker wrap now. It looks really cool.

Anyone else using Kool Aid to dye?

Moon Light Mama - Jyo-

[rad]

I haven't tried it yet. But I've been thinking about it. I have a few covers I'd love to dye.

[mamaofthreeboys]

Yep tried a nz soaker for my first try in purple....turned out pretty cute. Unfortunately my son is a super soaker so I'll be selling it soon!

I've since then have done 8 oz yarn up to make soakers.

[michray]

I did an Aristocrat not too long ago. I had a lot of fun doing it and plan do to lots more when I can!

[pb_and_j]

I just dyed some wool yarn to make a soaker for Bret. I need to redye it b/c it came out more pink than the red I was going for. So far the best combos I have gotten have been w/ blue and green. I think I may use orange and try to get a "sunset" look for my reddish pink yarn.

[allformyboys]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE kool-aid dying! I do wool a lot, but we also did Silks from Dharma's. I love the play silks but thought it would be so much fun to do our own, so I bought the blanks from Dharma's and let each kid do their own! My two older boys had SO much fun! (they are 5 and 3) I gave them a choice of 2 colors and used sponge brushes (the stencil kind) I mixed the koolaid in coffee mugs and put it in front of them and their silks on the table (on a layer of prefolds to absorb) they had SO much fun painting them! they were so proud! Kool-aid rocks cuz it is safe for the kids to use and keeps its color really well! My 5 yr old LOVES to help dye the wool too (when I hand paint, I don't let him do the stove top stuff )

You know what else works? food coloring and icing dye! you can get a lot more colors using these things too, icing coloring comes in different colors like maroon and navy, and all shades of other colors, it is very pretty and a ton of fun! So if you feel limited by the kool-aid colors (they are all pretty and bright but sometimes limiting) branch out into food coloring and icing dye!

[allformyboys]

Originally posted by pb_and_j
I just dyed some wool yarn to make a soaker for Bret. I need to redye it b/c it came out more pink than the red I was going for. So far the best combos I have gotten have been w/ blue and green. I think I may use orange and try to get a "sunset" look for my reddish pink yarn.

with red and orange you need to use A LOT of kool-aid, if your doing 8 oz of yarn I would use at LEAST 10 packages of each color! to get a real deep color! Sometimes re-dying it is needed if you don't get it dark enough but I would put in more kool-aid and let it sit in the water until the water is clear to make sure it has soaked up all the dye it can!

A great way to do a two tone yarn is to hang it over a spoon and dip half into the color you want it in (simmering/hot on the stove) and then keep it at the same level until it is as dark as you want, then put it in a stop bath (water and vinegar) to rinse a bit, change the position on the spoon (so the color you just did is UP and the un dyed is down) and then dip it into the other color and repeat, rinse well and spin and hang to dry. This makes a very pretty varigated pattern when knit up! Of course you can do more than one color this way, you just have to dip less into the water to make smaller sections to fit more colors

[Muggins&Doody]

I love Kool-Aid dying!! It's my favorite dye for wool. Here's a soaker that I did from yarn I dyed with Kool-Aid
http://pages.ivillage.com/monkeydood...leyssoaker.jpg

[MyLittleWonders]

Originally posted by Muggins&Doody
I love Kool-Aid dying!! It's my favorite dye for wool. Here's a soaker that I did from yarn I dyed with Kool-Aid
http://pages.ivillage.com/monkeydood...leyssoaker.jpg

OMG - that looks so much like the soaker I'm working on right now! I didn't have kool-aid and was much too impatient to go to the store, so I used food coloring. Dh had a lot of fun helping. It's such a neat mix of blue, to green, to yellow, to orange, to reddish/orange. I wish I had more time to knit it - maybe if I got off the computer once in a while!

[mom2kbeth]

Originally posted by allformyboys

You know what else works? food coloring and icing dye! you can get a lot more colors using these things too, icing coloring comes in different colors like maroon and navy, and all shades of other colors, it is very pretty and a ton of fun! So if you feel limited by the kool-aid colors (they are all pretty and bright but sometimes limiting) branch out into food coloring and icing dye! [/B]

I was thinking that you could use the icing colors. I have tons of these. How did you do it? Did you use anything like vinegar, or just the pure dyes? I'm dying to try it!

[memory maker]

How do you mix the koolaid? I was just thinking of doing this to my aristocrat but didnt know how. Can someone give me instructions? thanks!!

[BowNessMonster]

when i did red, I added almost a whole bottle of red food colouring (from the little four-pack thingie) to get a rich deep red. I was alarmed at how much the undyed natural wool flannel took, but it was worth it!

I am excited to get back to KoolAid dyeing. I ordered some of the Lopi yarn from www.fabriconnection.com, and plan to attempt some knit leggings for dd (i'm much better at crochet!). I'll let her dye the yarn herself...or dye the yarn AND herself LMAO!

[allformyboys]

I was thinking that you could use the icing colors. I have tons of these. How did you do it? Did you use anything like vinegar, or just the pure dyes? I'm dying to try it!

You have to use vinegar to set the colors, here is my dyeing process....highly useful info here, I dye all my yarn this way.... (you can dye wool fabric or already made soakers and/or pants this way too)

1st:
Fill a bowl with luke warm water and a few glugs of vinegar. Add yarn (loop it in a circle and then tie it in a few places to keep it from being tangled) and let soak while preparing dyes.

2nd:
Take colors to be used and add dye (kool-aid/food coloring or icing coloring) to water in a pan and place on the stove. Add a glug or two of vinegar. Turn on heat (med/high)

3rd:
Remove yarn (or whatever) from the water/vinegar bowl, do not dump out that water, squeeze out excess water as much as you can. Add yarn to desired color (either totally for a solid color or dip for partial color) and let sit in water until desired color is reached or water turns clear (some flavors of kool-aid turn a milky color but lose the color) Do NOT agitate much or you will have felting. Heat+agitation=shrinking/felting.

4th:
Remove yarn (or whatever) from dye bath on stove (I use tongs, you can use a spoon or whatever) and place in an empty bowl allow to cool a bit, then place in orginal bowl of vinegar/water. Rinse and squeeze until water is clear (run water in the bowl) There shouldn't be much color bleeding if the water turned clear.

Once the water is clear you can spin the yarn out in the washing machine (best way to get all the water out) and hang to dry. It can take 24 hours or more for 4-8 oz to dry. If you have a problem getting the water to turn clear you used too much dye, or you didn't let it soak long enough or hot enough, you can place yarn in a bowl and heat on high in the microwave (don't let the yarn get dry though) or you can soak it in a vinegar/water mix with more vinegar than water.

There are other methods like straight microwaving instead of stove top or hand painting, but they are a little more complicated. Basically though you need vinegar and heat to set the color into the wool, but how you use them is really a personal choice, some people use the microwave, some use a steamer, some use the stove, I have done and do all of these, but the stove is what I prefer and use the most!

[Muggins&Doody]

Originally posted by mamacarey
How do you mix the koolaid? I was just thinking of doing this to my aristocrat but didnt know how. Can someone give me instructions? thanks!!

I do my Kool-Aid dying very simply. I put about 3 packs of Kool-Aid in a big tupperware thingy. Then I add a bit of vinegar. I get my wool item wet before putting it in the Kool-Aid. Then I let it soak for about 3-5 hours. Overnight is best for more intense colors. Then I rinse the wool with lukewarm water until it runs clear. That's it!

ETA: I've never used heat and my dye turns out okay : Any thoughts on that?

[Moon Light Mama]

Bonnie

Bonnie,

Go to MDC diapering resources and Kool Aid dying is explained several ways there.

Good luck,
Moon Light Mama
--Jyo--

[Moon Light Mama]

drying your wool after dying

How do you mama's dry your wool after dying it??

I tried to dry it first on a towel in the yard (it was sunny and windy), but that didn't really help, so then I just tossed it on the bushes in my back yard and it dried fast. But of course there was some tangling involved when it was time to roll it up.

How do you dry it...do you have a special dryer rack??

Thanks,
Moon Light Mama-
Jyo

[*Erin*]

i could koolaid dye for hours. so. fun. i just finished knitting my first soaker for my dd, and im working on the 2nd.
mamacarey, i used 3 packets of koolaid per cup of water(wtih a wee bit of vinegar), and i dip dyed my yarn, after i hanked it. as i dyed it i laid it out, trying to keep the colors off each other, onto a towel. then i put it in a tupperware bowl, and nuked it for 2 minutes, let it cool, nuked it 2 more minutes, and let it cool. rinsed it off with lukewarm water, and laid it across a towel on my dryer, and let it sit there while i dried a load of clothes. my dryer gets warm to the touch on top and that helped it dry faster.

here's my first dying/soaker. i had to felt it, because i didnt check my gauge beforehand, and it came out BIG..lmao...you can see the colors better in the first one, i think my flash was too bright on the others, you can't see the pinks or purples at all. hm.
soaker on the run. hah.
front
back. ya'll dont look at my screwy stockinette there at the bottom. i see you looking. stop. i was going in the wrong leg of the stitch.

[pamelamama]

movin' ya over to sewing and crafts forum... more crafty types over there to join the party...

[mamaofthreeboys]

Re: drying your wool after dying

Originally posted by Moon Light Mama
How do you mama's dry your wool after dying it??

Thanks,
Moon Light Mama-
Jyo

I USE A FEW DIFFERENT OPTIONS

***Use a regular hanger in my laundry room mostly w/ or w/o clothes pins
**Or if its a sunny day take a regular hanger & hang outside/inside at night time
*Or if I have a lot to dry I use my clothes rack outside.

[allformyboys]

ETA: I've never used heat and my dye turns out okay Any thoughts on that?

Yes it will fade a lot more over the course of the life of the product if you don't heat set it. that is why you should always heat it. Next time you wash it just throw it in the microwave for 2 mins and you will be all set.

How do you mama's dry your wool after dying it??

I spin it out in the washing machine (to get all the water I can out) then I hang it over my shower rod or the towel hanger in the bathroom. They are usually dry by the next AM. When I dye wool yarn I have a curtian rod on my door in my kitchen, I unhook one side and slide all the yarn on to hang on the door until dry (24-48 hours)