Kool-Aid as dye

[Pumpkin_Pie]

Just wondering if I can use Kool-Aid as dye on playsilk blanks. I want to make a rainbow of silks for DS, but hate to buy all of the colors needed in regular dyes just to dye one silk with each color. I know you can dye yarn with Kool-Aid pretty easily, but what about silk?

[boheime]

We have some very pretty kool-aid dyed play silks. However, they do not hold up when they need to be washed. Most of the colour washes out. It doesn't matter how I set the colour - salt, vinegar, etc. Because of that, I'm not very pleased. I would much rather buy dye next time maybe a bottle that can be closed and reused or small packets. I've been considering washing all of our playsilks and redyeing them because of this.

[Pumpkin_Pie]

Wow! Thank you so much for the info. I am so glad to hear this before the end of the Dharma co-op. I guess I will be buying the dyes in my rainbow.

[alegna]

I have done LOTS of silk dying with kool-aid (and foodcoloring and vinegar...)

A few colors don't stay well- reds tend to wash out for me. But most work VERY well.

Blues and greens especially. Oh and I love purple.

The new neon food colors work well too.

-Angela

[Pumpkin_Pie]

Originally Posted by alegna

I have done LOTS of silk dying with kool-aid (and foodcoloring and vinegar...)

A few colors don't stay well- reds tend to wash out for me. But most work VERY well.

Blues and greens especially. Oh and I love purple.

The new neon food colors work well too.

-Angela

Any chance you would share your "recipes" with me? I would so love to save a few bucks in the Dharma co-op. I just hate to pay for dyes when I could pick up a cheapie packet of Kool-Aid to dye with.

Do you use the vinegar to "set" the dyes? Do you have to steam them in a microwave? What flavors of Kool-Aid work best for which colors?

I am definitely willing to give it a try if you have had decent luck with it.

[Bird Girl]

I have had the best luck with the Wilton paste food dyes and vinegar. You can put more dye in the pot with the Wilton, and it's cheaper overall--I can get a whole pot of Wilton dye for something like $1.50, rather than $.70 for just one packet of Koolaid, which will only dye one scarf.

I have not washed any of my silks except for a quick was after the dye, so I cannot speak to the colorfastness of the dye. However, two of the sarah's silks playsilks that we've bought have gotten wet, and they bled very badly.

[cristeen]

You can dye any protein (animal) fiber just like you would wool. I really recommend using heat setting, though. I've discovered the difference in my wool between just using hot water and actually simmering the yarn. When it's simmered, I hardly have any dye rinse out.

If you have a candy or cake decorating store in your area, you can sometimes find packs of paste food dyes for about $5. My pack has 4 pots of dyes, red, blue, yellow and green. And a little goes a long way. Or if you have the little droppers of food coloring, those work as well, although they don't go as far, they should be plenty for a bunch of playsilks. If you're not using KA, you do definitely need to use acid to set the dye. When I'm using KA, I don't add acid.

To give you some idea of amounts, I've dyed over 20 (100g) skeins of wool, and have barely made a dent in any of my dyes other than the yellow.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by Pumpkin_Pie

Any chance you would share your "recipes" with me? I would so love to save a few bucks in the Dharma co-op. I just hate to pay for dyes when I could pick up a cheapie packet of Kool-Aid to dye with.

Do you use the vinegar to "set" the dyes? Do you have to steam them in a microwave? What flavors of Kool-Aid work best for which colors?

I am definitely willing to give it a try if you have had decent luck with it.

I've tried a lot of different things. Using koolaid, you don't need vinegar (the acid is already in there) using food coloring, you do.

I usually use more than one packet to get a bright/dark color- though I've never seen them at $.70 a packet here. Brand name is usually $.25 and off brand is usually $.20

I've steamed in the microwave and boiled in a pot on the stove. I find in a pot works better for an even color. Microwave works better for a more mottled look.

Any of the blue koolaids work well- they tend to be slightly aqua, but set quite well. Reds are difficult and tend to wash out. Green I have the best luck with some kind of apple- it's a light green but very pretty. I like grape purple, but it's a grey-ish purple not bright. The new neon food colors give a nice light purple though.

hope that helps a bit!

-Angela

[Pumpkin_Pie]

Thanks so much! I might have to get a bunch of blanks and start experimenting.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by Pumpkin_Pie

Thanks so much! I might have to get a bunch of blanks and start experimenting.

Watch out! It's addicting Now I get blanks from dh for christmas and birthdays....

-Angela