Saturday, November 8, 2008

More on the Kool Aid dyeing thing......

I have a Kool Aid friend in California ( hugs to Michele) who kindly sent me a bag in the mail this week just chock a block full of Kool Aid. We knitters are a breed apart. I am sure Canada Customs were very intrigued...lol

Couldn't wait to get started. I used the steaming method this time. Two little hanks are soaking in warm water on the right. I mixed one envelope of Kool Aid with half a cup of boiling water. The steamer is on, the Saran is spread out and the blue spritzer bottle is full of white vinegar.
Pina pineapple is on the right. The wool ( SRK On Your Toes 4 ply sock yarn) grabbed the dye and left a milky residue. Jamaica on the other hand took the colour BUT left a lot of dye behind.
My fingers ended up being dyed a dark red. I squeezed out the excess (Get the bleach water!) and spread the wool on the Saran where I spritzed it generously with vinegar. Wrap into a loose package and pop into the steamer.

Steam with lid on for 10 minutes. When the time is up and you remove the lid you will see that the packages are very puffy they collapse quickly as the steam escapes.
They look shrink wrapped. Caution if you use cheapy cling wrap you will have the devils own time trying to undo the parcel. Buy a name brand! Be careful the wool inside is VERY VERY hot. It will cool down very quickly. Wash the hanks in soapy water the same temp as the wool! This is important, a change in temperature between the hot wool and the wash water can shrink wool that is not super wash. The Jamaica hank had to be rinsed 20 times (!!) to remove the excess dye. The colour is still dark. A little of this is going to go a L-O-N-G way.

Test hanks drying on the counter. The vibrant colours would be very nice in a fall mix..Hmmm

~MuM

1 comment:

FeyRhi said...

Considering how many times I have drank koolaid myself, I have to wonder...

What colour are my insides?