Dyeing yarn with Kool-Aid is a BLAST.
Have you ever wanted to try it? Well, here’s your chance.
I’ll walk you through all the steps, show you everything you need and then you can get started.
-It’s a wonderful craft to do with kids but they will need adult supervision.
-You’ll see what each color turns out to look like when applied to the yarn. Some of them are quite surprising.
-It smells AMAZZZZING.
-There really aren’t any rules. Glory be. But a few things to keep in mind: 1. Wool works best if you can get your hands on that. 2. You’ll need to heatset your dyes in the microwave so be supah careful, dahling!
-I used my superwash dewy dk weight yarn in the tutorial.
-You can brush, squirt or pour the dye on, or dip your skein into the dye. Lotsa options.
-Oh why am I blithering on? Get to watching!
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-Subscribe to my YouTube channel here so you don’t miss out on future episodes.
-Comment below with your ideas for future videos. I live for your comments and love reading them!
-When you’ve dyed your own yarn, post about it on your favorite social network, and tag me! I want to see!
-And finally, have a gggggreat day. I’m sending you big big big hugsies!
XOXO
Chandi
Love the video. . I know drying times will vary depending on the size of the skein BUT how long do you allow the yarn to dry? OR does it dry out enough in the microwave?
It usually takes a day or so!
A+ is what I think of your tutorials . It’s fun and very well explained; and very easy for me to do with my grandchildren thank you so much to take the time to do that. Hope you have more coming I enjoy everyone I’ve seen so far. So A+ to you and your staff.
Thank you
Sincerely Murielle
Hello. I am inspired by the colors from nature you all do. I have been knitting since I was 8, off and on, as my mother was an expert and could have qualified as a Master, but would “waste her time” doing swatches. She taught me to use the best quality yarns to get a great quality product or your time may not produce a satisfactory product. I also quilt and am a coloraholic. I have so enjoyed your posts on Facebook with the colors from nature. My mother is gone now, too soon, but she has been inspiring me to actually do projects I never would have attempted when she was alive. I don’t have the money to buy your fabulous yarns right now so would so much enjoy working with your yarns. My favorite is DK weight and love merino with anything or alone. Thanks for listening and whoever wins, I am sure they are deserving.
Thank you so much for making this video! This has been on my bucket list for a while now and I think I’m finally ready to take the plunge since you made it look so darn easy! Love the soundtrack too!
Love this idea, but I don’t have a microwave. Can I heat it up in my oven?
Yes!
Or steam it over water on your stove.
Just watched this video. Love it! I don’t have any kids, but I’m gonna dye some yarn anyway! Found some of your videos while searching YouTube for beginner tutorials on knitting. Great tutorial! Thanks! I’ve subscribed to your channel. 🙂
I’m going to do this with my handicrafts class. Love the video. Is the water boiling when you put it in cups? We are doing this with kids and adults, but don’t want burns. Would warm water work? Can’t wait, I’ll try to send you pics.
The water was lukewarm when we put it in the cups. The water doesn’t have to be hot.
Let me start off by saying I don’t believe in coincidences. Sunday afternoon I awoke from a lovely nap with a sudden and quite surprising desire to dye yarn. I’ve never done it before and hadn’t ever really thought about it. I knew I had white cotton in my stash that I might be able to use. I got out the tablet and started to look up YouTube when, to my surprise, I saw your tweet about Kool-Aid dying in my feed! I giggled and try to express my pleasure to my husband but he just didn’t get it. I now know that my cotton isn’t really the best choice so I’ll have to see if I can get my hands on some lovely naked wool! Thanks for the tutorial and your usual sunny disposition!
This is great. Can we actually boil them instead? How do we know it is the right temperature, without cooking the yarn? I do have some Cool aids and thinking of trying out.
You can steam them in a pot like you would veggies, or you can actually boil the yarn in a pot but if it’s multiple colors, they will run together. Still a cool look, though, if that’s what you want. It won’t take long. Depends on the color. Just make sure all the dye has absorbed out of the water and then rinse when finished.
Yes! if I heat up in my oven….what will the temperature be and for how long? And do I need to preheat the oven before heating up the yarn?
Try 30 minutes to start… and then check every 10 minutes or so until the dye is absorbed.
Thank you for the video, it was very informative. I did have two questions, do you rinse the yarn afterwards and will the Kool-Aid rub off on your hands as you knit? Thank you!
Yes, rinse! And no, if done properly you shouldn’t have any rub off later.
Great video, loved it. Question – Can you use super-washed wool??
Absolutely!
If you make a project with this colored yarn, do the colors fate out with time?
They shouldn’t, no. Make sure to do this on protein fibers (like wool, for example) as opposed to plant fibers (like cotton), make sure the colors have acid (Kool-Aid does already, but if using food coloring, add a splash of vinegar) and heat set, then rinse out all excess dye.
Love the video. I have had Kool-Aid and yarn just sitting for over a year and I guess this would be a good time to try this method. I gather that you don’t have to rinse the yarn after heat set if using Kool-Aid.
Love the hands! LOL I just picked up some koolaide today. I’m almost done spinning up some white yarn and play with. My only problem is this….what colors do I choose?!?!?! Such a dilemma.
Loved your video! Very informative and you did an excellent job explaining it. Can I dye roving the same way?
absolutely!
This looks so fun! I just ordered a non dyed skein from your site and can’t wait to try this! Thank you!
While the Chinese … While the Chinese have improved the quality or their accordions , they are still rather bulky and unsepsonrive ,compared to anything made in Europe. But them again they are very inexpensive. You get what you pay for. Weltmeister as I understand it ,is a company formed from the best elements of a couple of factories in Klingenthal after unification. The reed blocks on the smaller Stradella bass instruments are molded plastic,(72 bass and smaller) this helps keep the weight and cost down.
Is it permanent, reason for me asking, I dyed some napkins once and when I washed them all the colors were gone I was so disappointed because my son and I had dyed them for Easter when he was a youngster and they turned out so beautiful.
As long as it is heat set, acid is used, and it is the fiber of an animal the dye job will be permanent. : )
Very nice tutorial ….but after you heat set ..dont you need to rinse the skeins ? You left out that part ..was lokin forward to seeing the rised dryed finished results to see how well koolaide colors look ,,
I loved this video, I will be dyeing me some yarn this weekend!! Thank yo Chandi for another awesome video
Hi! Do you think this this technique would work on crochet thread?
Sure!
Just found this! So fun!! Thanks