Koolaid Dyeing

I bought a load of Kool Aid sachets yonks ago and never got round to using it. Well today was sunny with a light breeze and I was kid-free for a bit.. So I went for it.

It was fun actually and didn't take anywhere as long asＩthought.

I used two tutorials:
Kiki's Kool-Aid Class by Catherine J Hall
Dyed in the wool from the Knitty site

I took four different types of yarn and used different colours on them. There was no planning in it at all - I just wanted to do it and see what happened. If I do it again I will take more time and consider the colours I actually want.

Using Kool Aid is fun - all the yummy fruit smells. It does alarm me that these are marketed as drinks for kids and have the chemical composition to dye wool (and my hands.)

So - back to the yarn.

Pictured from left to right: 

Yarn One:
Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK - 50grams
Colours used: 1 x Pink Lemonade + 1 x Black Cherry
I mixed the colours together on this one and put the yarn (pre-soaked) in with the dye and enough water to cover and then zapped it in the microwave. (2 mins + rest + 2 mins) Once it had cooled I rinsed with cool water (amazingly it ran clear straight away) and hung it out on the line to dry.

Yarn Two:
Bought from the Natural Dye Studio - Alpaca/Merino 4ply/Sock yarn - 100grams
Colours used: 2 x Cherry, 2 x Tropical Punch, 2 x Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade
I pre-soaked the yarn and then mixed the dyes with a little water and spooned it on to sections of the yarn. Once I had the dyes on I put it in a bowl and gave it a microwave blast before rinsing and hanging out to dry.

Yarn Three:
Bought from Woolfish - Sock yarn (60% merino, 15% bamboo, 15% nylon, 10% silk) - 100grams
Colours used: 1 x Lemon Lime + 1 x Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade, 2 x Strawberry
I pre-soaked the yarn and then mixed the dyes with a little water and spooned it on to sections of the yarn. Once I had the dyes on I put it in a bowl and gave it a microwave blast before rinsing and hanging out to dry.

Yarn Four:
Fyberspates Squishy Yarn - 50% BFL and 50% Alpaca - 100grams
Colours used: 3 x Grape, 3 x Orange
Ruaridh and Orla helped with this one and chose purple and orange for the colours. I skeined the yarn but it was much shorter than the others so I just opted for half in each colour.  

Once it had been microwaved and cooled I rinsed it. Lots and lots of dye came out of it and the colours look really murky. Not as happy with this one as with the others.