Koolaid, Koolaid, Dyes Great!

" I still like the Koolaid jingle: Koolaid, Koolaid, tastes great; Wish I had some; Can't wait! I realy couldn't wait any longer. I finally tried my hand at dyeing. Well, this really isn't the first time, by I was discouraged by some of my previous results and it's taken me this long to try again.

They were right, it's so easy. And FUN!!!

The unsweetened packets were on sale at the supermarket (I may go back for more) for 10 for $2. I made up some individual colors and a few mixtures using the advice in the Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook as a guideline (Thanks, Kat, for finding that one!). The dollar store is another great place for some of the stuff I needed. I got 2 big plastic bowls and 5 aluminum roasting pans; didn't know how many I'd need, but that should be plenty for a while.

I used approximately 4 oz. of my Brown Sheep roving, purchased at Village Wools, and divided it in half. I put each half in a roasting pan. (The ridges in the pan that are good for roasting aren't so great for dyeing; the dye may flow where you don't want it to.) One pan was for "orange and red" just sprinkled or dripped on the roving. The other pan was for "blue and purple" saturated into the roving.

You can't really tell what the end colors are going to be until it's done, but I discovered that the orange on the blue (or was it purple or blue-purple) made a nice green.

I covered the pans with foil and then placed them inside a black plastic trash bag and set the whole thing in the sun for a couple or three hours. It was pretty hot when I checked it and the water was clear. I dunked it in vinegar water (just in case), then in shampoo-water (just in case), then in clear water, put it in the spin cycle, and hung it out to dry.


I am definitely doing this again!!! And I can't wait to spin these and see what kind of yarn they turn out to be.