Bugsparrow

So...I'm making this beautiful afghan, or humongous granny square out of mostly hand dyed Kool Aid yarns and Wilton Icing gel dyes. It was time to dye some more...So here's how I do it! I will include directions for Kool Aid dyeing as well because they are both similar processes...

What you'll need for each hank of yarn...

* Choice of colors, either Wilton Icing gel dyes or 2 or 3 packages of each "flavor" Kool Aid (Flavor Aid works too!) 
* Hot water, almost boiling
* Large bowls or pans
* Mugs, one for each color
* Old towel
* Rubber gloves
* Large pot of water on stove or microwave safe bowl or pan (depends on which dye your using)

First step was to take my plain un-dyed 100% wool yarn from the store and wrap it around the back of a chair, you just want to make a large loop of yarn. Gently pull the new loop of yarn off the back of the chair and tie loosely a knot at the top and the bottom, just to keep everything from knotting up. Sorry, I wish I had taken a picture of this process...

Once your loop is ready, soak it in a large pan with warm water and about 1/4 cup of white vinegar. Let this soak for about 20 minutes. If using Kool Aid, you can skip using vinegar in all of these steps. While that's soaking, get your dyes ready. Fill each mug with almost boiling water, then stir in your dyes. For the Wilton Icing gels just scoop out a teaspoon or so of each color and stir into the mugs, for the blue McCormick dye, I just unloaded the whole container into the mug :) Stir until all dyes are dissolved.
For Kool Aid dye, use 2 or 3 packets of each "flavor" for each mug, the more packets you use the more saturated the color.

For Wilton gel or food coloring dyeing follow this process....

Gently lift your loop from the soak and pour out the water from the pan, gently squeeze out all the excess water from your yarn. For the process I used here, you'll need 3 generously sized bowls or pans. Pour your mugs of dye into the pans and gently lay your loop of yarn into the pans...like this...I separated my loop into 3 sections and laid each section into it's own pan of color.

 Now, if you don't already have them on...get on your rubber gloves! Gently...and I mean gently! Press into the yarn to help absorb each color. You can also use a spoon or a turkey baster to help spread the dye over the yarn. Once the yarn is saturated with dye, leave it in place for about 10 minutes or more. In the mean time, heat a large pot of water on the stove to just under boiling...just a light simmer will do. I also add in about 1/2 cup of white vinegar, this just helps to set the dye. Once water is heated, gently lift your loop of yarn out of the dyes and rinse under cold water, letting the excess dye run out. Then place the loop into the pot of hot water. Let this "cook" for about 20 minutes at a very low simmer. At this point your dye should not be running anymore and the colors should be set.

 After 20 minutes, lift out your loop and soak in cold water with about a tablespoon of Dr. Bronners soap. I use lavender, but you can use what ever smell you like the best. You can also use Woolite or a very small amount of your favorite soap. Please choose something that rinses easily and thoroughly as you cannot scrub the yarn to get the soap out! I find Dr. Bronners soap to be the best soak for my wool because it takes out the "wet dog" smell from the yarn and rinses very easily. It smells really good too!

After the soak, rinse well with cold water, but avoid rubbing or squishing the yarns fibers, you will end up with fuzzy or felted strands. Just a light gentle squeeze will be enough to get the drips out. Lay the yarn loop onto an old towel and gently roll up and squeeze. this is a great way to get the water out of your yarn with out damaging the strands. Unroll and hang up your loop to dry or place outside in the sun.





Once dry, roll into your brand new, ready to go ball of yarn!






If Kool Aid dyeing...

Once your loop of yarn has pre soaked, gently squeeze out water and lay out into a pan that is microwave safe. Pour your dye over or separate it into sections like above. Follow the methods above to incorporate dye into the yarn. Once your dye has saturated the yarn, place in microwave. "Cook" in the microwave in intervals of 1 minute or less depending on your microwave, or just until all the dye is absorbed and the water left in the pan has turned clear. Gently lift out the loop of yarn and rinse under cool running water. Soak as described in above section, roll in the towel and let dry.

Here is some yarn I dyed the other day with only Kool Aid..
I used a combination of Grape, Cherry and Black Cherry. I used the same method as I described above, separating the yarn into 3 sections and using 3 bowls of dye.

Have fun and try some for yourself! You'll love it and the kiddos have a ball helping out!