Kool-Aid Dyeing Pt. 2

3. Preparing the Kool-Aid - some websites are very exact about this, but honestly - if you put a little too much vinegar, water, Kool-Aid etc it's still going to be OK!

I put 2 Kool-Aids in a pint glass and used a smaller glass (maybe third of the size of a pint glass) to add 1/3 glass of white vinegar and 1 full glass of warm water to the pint glass. This would make vibrant 'hot' shades.

If you wanted a more pastel effect I would go with 1 Kool-Aid packet to the same vinegar/water mix.

If you want the same vibrancy but a lighter tone than dilute with futher water and a splash more vinegar.

Some websites state there being no need for vinegar as the Kool-Aid has acid in it. As I can find no definitive answer, I figure that adding vinegar when it maybe wasn't necessary is less of a catastrophe than not adding vinegar and having the dye all run out in the first handwash as it hasn't set right... Experiment! See what happens!



4. Painting the yarn. Lay the yarn in a mocrowave friendly dish and pour the glasses of dye over it (or use a baster-type implement for more precision) I just poured - the dye tends to 'stick' straight away to the yarn, so there is little running of colours (unless you shuggle the dish or something).

Use the back of a wooden spoon to press the colour in, and pour more on if necessary. The image above (plus the top image) are to give an idea of how much to pour in - until the yarn is soaking and still sticking out of the water a wee bit. I don't know how clear my pics are in illustrating this though.

5. Dye me! Cover with cling film and pierce with a fork a few times. Bung in the microwave on high for 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and lift cling film (be careful - extremely hot steam escapes) if water is clear when you move the yarn with the wooden spoon then you are done! If not then let it sit for 2 minutes and cover and put back in for 2 minutes. Repeat until done.

Some websites say this process takes about 8 minutes, but mine was 2-4 minutes of microwave zapping - I have an 800W microwave.

If you take it out after 2 minutes and see bits where the dye hasn't taken very well then just pour more dye on and bung it in again! (This method is for variegated yarn dyeing only)