Dyeing To Try This

Day 294: I've been dying to try this: trying to dye this Blue-Faced Leicester wool with unsweetened Kool-aid. It seems to be a popular way to break into the science of dyeing, and one which gives surprisingly good, non-fading results. Chemical dyes require dedicated equipment, whereas Kool-aid dyeing can be done with your regular kitchenware, using either a Crock-pot or a microwave oven. I opted for the microwave version. I presoaked three ounces of BFL (a stray skein of handspun I found in my stash) in six cups of room temperature tap water for about 20 minutes, agitating it lightly halfway through. Then I gently removed the wool from the water and added two packets of "blue raspberry lemonade" Kool-aid. I chose it because it was the only flavour available to me which wouldn't have resulted in pink yarn! Since the drink powder already contains citric acid, there was no need to mordant the yarn. After replacing the wool in the cup, I heated it in the microwave for two minutes on high, then gently moved the yarn around, taking care not to handle it too roughly for fear of felting. After repeating the process twice more, all the dye had been absorbed. Once it has cooled to room temp again, I'll give it a light rinse with a little Dawn, and hang it out to dry. The colour will undoubtedly lighten as it dries, but will still be a lovely permanent shade of light aqua blue.