Saturday, February 26, 2011

Dyeing to Knit Something

As a busy mom of two elementary school girls I am always looking for projects that become a family activity. With that said, they need to be affordable, fun, and easy to do in a relatively short period of time. One of my favorites is using Kool- Aid as a quick, easy and safe method of dyeing wool and yarn. Thus a project was born on a blustery spring day last year using some of our medium weight 2-ply yarn skeins, a little bit of vinegar, and a selection of Kool-Aid. Fortunately for you, the teacher in me feels the need to share this project in hopes that it inspires others to jump in and have fun with fiber.

This is the perfect project for the experienced fiber artist looking to add something fun and exciting to their knitting repertoire or the beginner looking to try their hand at a sampling of what fiber arts has to offer. Either way this kid friendly multi-faceted project offers a wide variety of options to fill everyone's senses.

I started with one of our naturally white 100% wool 2-ply skeins we had processed from our sheep at Fantasy Fibers in Canby, Oregon. This inexpensive medium weight yarn works perfectly for this project soaking up the dye easily to become a brightly colored canvas to knit a warm stocking cap, pair of socks, or toasty scarf.

To finish this project you will need one to two skeins of yarn (depending upon your final project), white vinegar, 8-10 packets of each color of Kool-Aid ( I used three colors/flavors for the yarn in the photos), a few work towels, three plastic bottles with spouts or paint brushes, plastic wrap, a microwavable bowl, tap water, and possibly a pair of tongs to handle the hot yarn after setting the dye. Depending upon the surface you choose to work on you may also want to include a tarp, adhesive tape, recycled newspapers and/or a few garbage sacks to protect the area. You will also need a place to dry your skein of yarn.
Once you have all of your material close at hand, you can start the fun process of dyeing your own yarn and later knitting it into your favorite project. Please keep in mind the possibilities are endless with this project and you can use your imagination to create color combinations to suit your taste.
Directions to create a tie-dyed effect to your yarn using Kool-Aid.

1. Mix Kool-Aid with tap water to desired color brightness and place in plastic bottles or bowls (one color/bottle or bowl). Add 1/4 cup - 1/2 cup vinegar (I generally eyeball this part of the project and drop in a few glugs from the bottle) to the mixture depending upon the size of the bottle. Set bottles/bowls of Kool-Aid dye aside to prepare the yarn for dye.

2. Set-up your work area on a flat surface. (Reminder: this surface may get wet or be splashed with excess dye that could stain so make sure to use precautions.) I generally tape down a couple of large plastic garbage sacks, followed by newspaper and two or three layers of retired bath towels.

3. Next you will gently lay out your skein of yarn on the towels. You will then tear off approx. two foot long pieces of plastic wrap and lay it under the yarn in lengthwise sections (hot dog style). Once you have your yarn and plastic wrap in place you are ready to start dyeing.







4. Use your own personal style to squirt or paint the dyes onto the yarn until you achieve your desired look. Some may prefer to use a variegated color pattern staying within a color family, such as going from lighter to darker purple, while others may choose to use complimenting contrast colors to create a vibrant show. Still others may choose to use their favorite school colors to embellish their yarn.







5. You will then wrap the plastic wrap snugly around your newly dyed wet yarn. Gently place your plastic wrapped yarn into a covered microwaveable safe bowl and place in the microwave. Microwave your yarn for 10 to 12 minutes. Leave the bowl full of hot yarn in the microwave to cool down for several minutes.

6. When you do remove the yarn from the microwave be extremely careful as there may be hot steam still trapped inside the bowl and the yarn will continue to be very hot for awhile. Remove the yarn from the bowl and lay it out on a layer of towels or hang it on a hanger to dry. I generally check on the drying skein periodically and gently rearrange to rotate the wet and dry areas to dry faster.

7. Depending upon the warmth of the room it will take one to two days for the skein to dry to the point of being able to start your final knitting project.
Solid colors are much simpler to achieve. Basically you can add your desired color of Kool-Aid to tap water in a saucepan on the stove top. Add in appropriate amounts of vinegar and bring your mixture to a boil on the stove. Place your skein into the boiling water, gently stirring it around in the mixture and let bubble for a few minutes or until the water is void of color. Then follow the earlier instructions for drying.

There are several interesting and educational sites on the web to learn more about this process. Many include different Kool-Aid recipes to achieve desired colors and have different plays on the process and color combinations. Check out Kool-Aid Dyeing Wool on google and go on a fun adventure that is sure to keep you occupied for awhile.

We do have a few more of these wonderful skeins available here at the farm for $12/each. I can generally arrange delivery throughout Central Oregon or I can ship directly to you via USPS with the buyer paying shipping costs.
























































































































No comments:

Post a Comment