Kool-Aid: The Ideal Dye for Your Yarn

Knitting and crochet have become more and more popular,drawing in new fans every day. With this article, you’ll learn how to dye your yarn using only basic grocery items. This is ideal if you live in a dorm room or have limited space, and still want to dye yarn easily. You can dye yarn with Kool-Aid in less than an hour, and have something wholly unique! I will also include instructions on basic patterns that can be dyed into your yarn.

This method works best with yarn that is 100% wool; I cannot guarentee results with anything other than animal-based fibers (wool, mohair and silk).

To begin, assemble your yarn, wound into a skein. Get a plastic container large enough to hold your yarn, and fit into your microwave. Fill the container with water, approximately 2-3tablespoons of vinegar, and a packet of Kool-Aid. Mix everything well, and put your skein in gently, just patting at it with yourfingertips until it sinks completely. Sprinkle salt generously inthe tub, and microwave for three minutes. The vinegar will act as a mordant – fixing the dye to the yarn. The salt helps the dye “take” evenly. After the yarn is microwaved, pull it out and lift the yarn out, to see how well the Kool-Aid dyed it. You can heat again, or simply let it sit. The longer the yarn is in the dyebath, the brighter and darker the color will be.

When the yarn is the color you want it to be, pull it out of the dyebath and very gently squeeze the excess water off. Hang the yarn up to dry – and you’re done! You’ve just dyed your own yarn,with less than three dollars’ worth of supplies.

It’s easy to add simple effects to your Kool-Aid dyed yarn. Put only half of the skein in the dyebath, and natural stripes will develop. You can also “paint” the yarn with the dye, making little spots of different colors. If you have single-ply yarn,split the skein and dye each half a different color -you can then twist the plies together to create an interesting look.

Kool-Aid is a great introduction to dyeing yarn; you can experiment for very cheap, and get an amazing range of colors!