Dye Your Wool At Home
December 21st, 2006 by HeatherWho knew you could use Kool-Aid® for more than a sweet drink? Dying yarn with Kool-Aid® can be a economical way to get your wool to be bright and vibrant without a lot of mess. The process is simple and can be completed in a couple of hours.
This method only works with animal fibres, such as wool, mohair, and alpaca. You’ll want to use a 100% product, rather than one blended with artificial fibres.
You’ll need a glass jar, a skein of wool in a light color (I chose a beige merino wool), a package of Kool-Aid® in the flavour / color of your choice, a spoon for stirring and a pot. Be sure that you only use the unsweetened drink crystals, or the color wont adhere as well.
Begin by adding warm water to the glass jar, and add the drink crystals. The amount of water is irrelevant, you simply want to make sure that your wool is completely submerged. If you want a vibrant color, use the entire package of crystals. If you desire a lighter color, add less Kool-Aid®. Submerge your wool in the mixture (I use half a skein per drink mix package to get the brightest colors), using a spoon to release any air bubbles and to ensure that the wool is completely submerged.
Place the glass jar into a pot filled halfway with water and set on the stove burner at medium temperature.
Leave on the heat until the water becomes clear or cloudy (some colors) and the wool has absorbed the dye.
Remove from heat and let the jar and water cool to room temperature. Rinse with the same temperature water. Extreme temperature differences between the rinsing water and yarn may cause the yarn to felt, so take caution!
The result is a brightly dyed wool yarn that can be used for any project, even felting. The color wont run in the wash, which is a bonus.
Another option is to submerge only half the wool to be dyed, resulting in a striped yarn.
Happy dyeing!!
December 21st, 2006 at 7:38 pm
I was just asking Joy about this – how to go about dying yarn so this is good to know. And it won’t bleed in the wash? What about using cotton? I’ve got 3 skeins of white I’d love to do something fun with.
December 21st, 2006 at 8:54 pm
It may work on cotton initially, but it wont last unfortunately. For cotton you’ll need to use a fiber reactive dye. Check out http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/fiberreactive.shtml for some tips
May 3rd, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Thanks for the info and the time it took to post this tutorial. I think I’ll try this in the morning.
October 21st, 2007 at 1:29 am
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I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting…
December 13th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Does the pot that you put the jar onto have to have water in it aswell?? I really like this tutorial on dying your own wool. I mean its great, if you want to buy cheap white wool or whatever you can and thenjust dye it yourself! Cool stuff! I like it!!
December 14th, 2008 at 10:19 am
It’s dyeing, dyeing dyeing!
January 26th, 2009 at 6:21 am
What a frugal way to get cool colors! It would work good too for reclaimed sweaters or yarn if it were white or cream colored. I must try this soon.
October 8th, 2009 at 12:55 am
good color
December 30th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Hi, I have inherited a 1950′s infant sweater,in a natural off white, made in Ireland. Unfortunately it has a stain on the neck area which I’ve tried everything to remove. So, now I’m thinking maybe I could dye it a pretty green. I see that your article covers dyeing the wool skein and using warm water. Can I do this to a garment and use cool water? What would you suggest? Thanks ever so much!
May 6th, 2011 at 1:18 am
Thanks for the info and the time it took to post this tutorial. I think I’ll try this in the morning