Kool-Aid Dying
Well folks, it was quite a weekend. The Artistic Fiber Goddess waved her magic wooden spoon and dying magic happened.
To Summarize: It was sooo easy and very satisfying. I followed the dying process from the Knitty article by Kristi Porter. I bought the largest Pyrex bowl I could find. I was able to quickly set up all the materials and work space, and since I did the heating process via the microwave, it did not take much time at all. I was lucky the day was warm and sunny because then I could put the skeins outside to dry on the fire escape. The colors came out the right intensity I was hoping for.
Left to Right: Black Cherry, Grape, Black Cherry/Grape mixed together, and Tropical Punch.
Notes:
- Ratio of Kool-Aid to water: I used 2 cups of water : .34 ounces of packets Kool-Aid for the Tropical Punch. For everything else (Black Cherry, Grape and a Black Cherry-Grape combo) I used 2 cups of water : two .14 ounces packets of Kool-Aid. This was enough dye solution to just cover the yarn. (Notes: See Addendum on ratios at bottom of web page.)
- Microwave Time: I microwaved the yarn and Kool-Aid dye bath for 2 minutes on High, let rest for 5 minutes, then repeated. After the second rest, the water was clear and the yarn had absorbed the dye. I rinsed the dyed yarn in warm-hot water and washed it one last time in Ivory detergent before I hung it out to dry.
The next day, I hand painted a skein of yarn with Liqua-Gel food coloring from N.Y. Cake & Baking Distributor.
Left to right: Fucshia, burgundy wine and violet.
Notes:
- Ratio of Liqua-Gel to water: I used 2/3 cup of water : 1 tsp of food coloring.
- Painting the Yarn: I dipped one end in fucshia and the other end in violet. The middle I painted with a Silicon Basting Brush.
- Microwave Time: This took longer than the Kool-Aid and do not forget to cover the bowl with plastic wrap or you will be wiping up dye splatter as I did! I zapped the yarn/dye mixture on High for 2 minutes, let rest for 5 minutes. Next, I zapped 1 more minute on High and checked the yarn (I didn’t want to over-cook it). I zapped it again for 1 minute, rested again for 5 minutes. When I checked the yarn, it did not look like it had completely soaked up the dye — so I zapped it one more time on High for 1 minute. I let the yarn completely cool for 30 minutes.
- Snafu: I forgot to use vinegar to set the dye! I had to run out and buy vinegar. I covered the yarn completely with vinegar. I thought about mixing a water/vinegar solution, but I was worried about the dye setting — so I went with 100% vinegar only. I let the yarn soak in the vinegar for 30 minutes, rinsed it, washed the yarn in Ivory detergent and let dry.
- The Colors: Because I forgot to set the dye with vinegar right away, the colors seemed to run together a little. The violet was originally more intense before I set the dye, otherwise I like the color scheme I chose. Next time, I will pre-soak the yarn in vinegar. I have also read that I can add vinegar to the dye mixture too.
Now that I have successfully tried Kool-Aid and food color dying, I want to try more colors and different dyes. On to the next adventure!
Addendum: I e-mailed Kristi Porter to thank her for writing such a great article and she gave me some advice on dye to water ratios. Here are Kristi’s words:
” . . . as far as dye ratio goes, the amount of water you use does not matter at all. What’s important is how much yarn you use per dye packet. You need enough water to cover your yarn, but beyond that, it doesn’t matter, really. One oz. of yarn dyed with one packet will look darker than 2 oz. of yarn dyed with one packet. Whether you use 4 cups of water or 1 cup.”
Story & Images copyright 2006 Delica Reduque
Kool-Aid copyright Kraft Food Holdings.
Liqua-Gel copyright N.Y. Cake & Baking Distributor