the domestic sphere

my dalliances with all things domestic






4/25/2002



Hey, Kool-Aid!



Well, it's all over now. I've started dyeing my own wool. It's so fun. Now I dream of better yarns, ordering up some real dyes from Dharma Trading Co.... But for now, it's Kool-Aid.

After scouting around various websites, (I found this one quite helpful), I decided I was ready. Was all set to go to a yarn store, but they were all closed because it was Monday! So I went to the local craft emporium and bought some Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool, probably good that I am using cheap yarn, because this is definitely the experimental stage.


Because I wanted to variegate the yarn and don't have a microwave, I ended up mixing the Kool-Aid with a few spoonsful of water, then squirting them onto the pre-wetted wool skein with a big syringe. Then I put it in a steamer basket and steamed it for 30-45 minutes. It worked fine. The first attempt is this very bright blue & orange (I used yellow too, but it's so pale you can't tell). Zoe's choice. It's on it's way to becoming matching hats for her and her doll.


My second attempt was a little more subtle. I dyed the whole skein Orange in a pot, then tied it with some string and over-dyed it with Strawberry. After that, I re-tied the whole thing and put it into some Black Cherry. I am generally pleased with it, but if I had thought it out a bit more, I would have made it into several smaller skeins rather than one big one. The outside is mostly dark red, the inside of the skein has a lot of orange. Now that it's dry, I may break it down into smaller skeins, rubber band them, and put it back into some Black Cherry to even it out a little.








posted by kristi at 4/25/2002 07:14:00 AM
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