Satisfyingly quick and easy dyeing

Kool Aid dyeing

Following on from my last post, here is a little write up and pictures of the Kool Aid dyeing I did with Imogen the other day. Nothing new, same old thing for those who have done this kind of dyeing before, but thought I would share some pictures anyway, quite a few pictures to tell the story.

First let me show you my new dyeing pan - this was a great find in a charity shop recently for £3! A large pot with a colander style pot to go inside - fits all the way to the bottom, then a steamer basket can sit at the top and a lid with two steam holes. Perfect! Perfect for dyeing in the simmering water and also for steam setting so this will get a lot of use.

 My new dyeing pan

Kool Aid dyeing is simple, safe and fun. As it is a foodstuff (although why you would want to drink it I don't know) it is safe to do in the kitchen, using kitchen equipment and with children without having to think about protective equipment like gloves, etc.

I soaked this 150g merino white in a bucket of cold water during the day and then drained it just before the dyeing began.

In the big pot I poured cold water and then the Kool Aid dye packs came out. I wanted a range of blues and lavender/purple shades so I used 3 packets of Berry Blue and 1 packet of Grape. I had a couple of spares to use later if I was not sure if I wanted to go deeper but wanted subtle shading so went for less. You can always add dye but cannot take it away.

In the packets went - first the blue and it was stirred to dissolve, the grape was added last and stirred through without complete mixing to allow for different colours to emerge (hopefully!).

The wool was put in the collander pot and submerged into the dye and the pot was heated on the hob. I gently pushed the wool down and turned bits slightly but without too much agitation as I didn't want felt.

Simmering on the hob

Simmered until the water is clear - a quick check to see if it is clear. Careful, it's hot!

 Clear water means all the dye has been absorbed by the wool

 Draining and rinsing the fibre

Drained and rinsed, although none of the dye came out in the rinse and then squeezed gently to remove excess water. I also wrapped in a towel to remove more water before laying it out to dry.

Here it is on the drying rack over the bath.

And here are some pictures of it dry. This was much admired at the guild on Saturday, with members impressed at how quick and easy I dyed it. These pictures will feature in the newsletter sometime too.

 

 

Loving the range of blues in this, reminiscent of waves

Now it is almost all spun up - one bobbin full, another nearly there. I'm finding it hard to get the photos to reflect the colours well, I think between the two below you can get the idea.

Plying soon with this, can't wait to see how it turns out. Loving the blues, my favourite colours. Back soon.

Bobbins to ply together