Kool-Aid has a great range of bright colours to offer the home dyer. Kool-Aid dyeing is a very simple process that does not require exact measurements or special dying tools and equipment. My favourite method uses the microwave, but you can also dye in a pot on the stove, or even use the heat of the sun. This is a great activity to do with the kids. Kool-Aid will only dye protein fibres such as wool, alpaca, mohair, cashmere, and silk. Cottons, linens and manmade fibres will not take the dye.

Equipment:

• pot or microwave-safe dish
• spoon

Below are two methods for dyeing with Kool-Aid. One package of unsweetened Kool-Aid will dye one ounce of fibre, therefore you will need to know the approximate weight of your fibre. The yarn is prepared the same way for both methods. It needs to be tied loosely in skeins and then washed very gently in warm water with a mild soap and left to soak for 30 minutes.

Basic Microwave Method

• Prepare the yarn as above.
• Mix the Kool-Aid with just enough warm water to cover the yarn in a microwave-safe dish.
• Squeezing the excess water out of the skein.
• Place the yarn in the dye bath and gently stir.
• Heat in the microwave on high for 2 minutes.
• Let it rest for 2 minutes.
• Stir gently and repeat steps 4 and 5.
• If water is clear at this point (some Kool-Aid colours leave the water a milky white) then you are done. If not, repeat steps 4 and 5 until the water is clear.
• Let cool a bit, then rinse with warm water until water runs clear.

Basic Stove Top Method

• Prepare the yarn as above.
• Mix the Kool-Aid with just enough warm water to cover the yarn in a pot.
• Squeezing the excess water out of the skein.
• Place the yarn in the dye bath and gently stir.
• Heat on medium-low, occasionally stirring gently.
• Heat until the water is clear (some Kool-Aid colours leave the water a milky white). This might take anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes.
• Let cool a bit, then rinse with warm water until water runs clear.

For lighter colours, use less Kool-Aid and for darker colours use more Kool-Aid per ounce of fibre. And if you prefer slightly subdued colours, start with a darker wool such as a natural grey or brown. Some sources say to use a splash of white vinegar to help set the colour, but other sources say there’s enough acid in the Kool-Aid and that it’s not necessary. I chose not to use the vinegar. When I felted my Kool-Aid dyed project a lot of the dye came out in the water and the final colour was much lighter than I had anticipated. This may have been due to the felting process (hot water, lots of soap and agitation). Kool-Aid is also not terribly light fast, so if the project were to remain in the sun for a long period of time, the colour would fade.

There are fun and simple methods for hand-painting or tie-dying your yarn. Here are some websites with more information both on Kool-Aid dyeing and hand painting. The first link is a colour chart with all the Kool-Aid flavours.

• http://www.thepiper.com/fiberart/koolaid/colorchart.html - colour chart with all the Kool-Aid flavours
• http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall02/FEATdyedwool.html - Dyed in the wool article by Kristi Porter for Knitty.com
• http://gfwsheep.com/rov.inst/rov.inst.html - How to Hand Paint Roving & Yarn
• http://www.geocities.com/knitter01/koolaid.html - Kool-Aid Dyeing on Gaea Creations website
• http://www.thepiper.com/fiberart/koolaid/basic-howto.html - Dyeing with Kool-Aid Basic How-to

Originally published in the West Coast Knitters’ News

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