Posted on Leave a comment

First yarn dyeing attempt using Kool Aid! – Part 2

So it’s done! We had a beautifully sunny day on Saturday so it was the perfect opportunity to do the dyeing as I didn’t want to completely destroy my kitchen by doing it inside. I set up a dyeing area outside in our garden, laying a bin bag over the table and then covering that with cling film. Here’s the steps I took:

  • Laid the yarn carefully on top of a sink full of tepid water which had a couple drops of washing up liquid in it.
  • Left the yarn to sink to the bottom by itself (about 30 minutes)
  • While the yarn was soaking I prepared the dye by mixing 1 packet of kool-aid per 8oz
  • Once the yarn was soaked through I carefully pressed down on it to get rid of any final bubbles that were trapped within the yarn.
  • Lifted the yarn out of the sink, carefully and gently squeezing the yarn to get rid of some of the water
  • Laid the yarn in a circle on the table
  • Created a very basic guide to help me space the colours properly
  • Took the first colour and poured it wedge-style onto the chosen sections of the circle.
  • Gently rub the mixture through the yarn, lifting and making sure the underneath is coated as well
  • To finish each colour I took the spray gun section of a normal squirty bottle and had it’s end in the measuring jug holding the juice, this way I could carefully and accurately get the remaining spots of white with the colour
  • Work through the rest of the colours in the same way
  • Wrap the yarn in the cling film, folding it over itself so the yarn is separated in layers from the other sections of the yarn (so colour doesn’t mix)
  • Put the whole thing in a microwavable bowl and in the microwave on high for 2 minutes, then rest for 2 minutes and then put it on high for another 2 minutes. You should find the water in the bowl is clear at this point, if not then after a 2 minute rest pop it on high for another 2 minutes.
  • Leave it to cool COMPLETELY. I found this bit very hard to do, I really wanted to unwrap my yarn and see it but if you do there is a chance you’ll felt your yarn and then it will be ruining, so leave it til it’s cooled
  • Fill the sink with water that is the same temperature as your cooled yarn and carefully push your yarn around in it a bit
  • Pull the yarn out, gently sqeezing it and then hang it up to dry

And ta-da… the finished product…



The full process has been put on my flickr here

And on Ravelry you’ll find me as Lacuna 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.