# Dyeing- More Kool-Aid



## Julianna P (Nov 18, 2013)

I am really happy with my second attempt at Kool aid dying. It is intentionally variegated- unlike my first attempt which was very haphazard but turned out great.

My technique is to soak yarn in a cheap kitty litter box. Pour off most of the water. Add Kool aid to water and heat until completely dissolved. Pour the liquid in a stream over the yarn using 1/4 of the dye. Smoosh the yarn around and flip it over. Drizzle 1/4 more over yarn making sure to hit the light areas. Repeat twice more. Wring out and hang to dry.

I am going to turn this pattern into a cardigan using the yarn. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/catkin


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## martyr (Feb 15, 2011)

I love your dyed yarn. It is so much fun, and I’m hoping to get to my second project too. BTW that is a fabulous pattern - Thanks for sharing both with us. :sm11:


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## run4fittness (May 22, 2011)

Lovely colors for a wonderful shawl. :sm24:


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## SometimesaKnitter (Sep 4, 2011)

Kool!!


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## BirchPoint (Feb 12, 2016)

What fun! Love the pattern too!
By the way, anyone, what is the long term colorfast quality of kool-aid and liquid food dyes?


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## Julianna P (Nov 18, 2013)

BirchPoint said:


> What fun! Love the pattern too!
> By the way, anyone, what is the long term colorfast quality of kool-aid and liquid food dyes?


My first was knit a few months ago, so I don't have a good answer, but it seems like they do OK for things that aren't washed a lot. I remember someone commenting that their socks had faded a fair amount.


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## mama879 (Jan 27, 2011)

I think I would not use on anything that I want to pass down or have for many years. Maybe a mitten that may be lost or only used a year or two. I have seen pictures of items made with cool aide that have been faded after 1 year. Only use on items that would not be washed a lot either.
This was said and was about half way down. I do not think I would believe it is color fast though.  http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring07/FEATdyeyourown.html


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## betty boivin (Sep 12, 2012)

Would rinsing with vinegar help?


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## Julianna P (Nov 18, 2013)

http://www.dyeyouryarn.com/fade-test.html

This says it might but other dyes fade too


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## Julianna P (Nov 18, 2013)

betty boivin said:


> Would rinsing with vinegar help?


The beauty of Kool-Aid is no vinegar needed


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## Babalou (Jun 3, 2012)

That was s going to be beautiful. Thanks for sharing your process for dying and showing your swatch cards.


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## mabougirl (Jan 16, 2017)

Thank you for sharing. Lovely colours.


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## Julianna P (Nov 18, 2013)

mama879 said:


> I think I would not use on anything that I want to pass down or have for many years. Maybe a mitten that may be lost or only used a year or two. I have seen pictures of items made with cool aide that have been faded after 1 year. Only use on items that would not be washed a lot either.
> This was said and was about half way down. I do not think I would believe it is color fast though. http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring07/FEATdyeyourown.html


I prefer any item I knit be worn and worn, not saved and passed down. There is no greater compliment than to have someone wear out a hand made item. It means they liked and like using it. I understand the risks and love that on a whim, I can pull out undyed yarn, go to the grocery store, buy Kool aid and create what every I feel like without have to wait for mail to arrive or settle for a different color at the store.

Just me .......


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## BirchPoint (Feb 12, 2016)

Julianna P said:


> http://www.dyeyouryarn.com/fade-test.html
> 
> This says it might but other dyes fade too


Thanks for the link. We've quit drinking Kool aid, but I still have some packages. I may need to try this....


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## spinninggill (Apr 9, 2011)

Lovely pattern for lovely yarn


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## gardenpoet (Jun 24, 2016)

Your yarn color palette is just beautiful. It will perfect on that really cute pattern. Thanks for sharing.


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## SometimesaKnitter (Sep 4, 2011)

I think the colorfastness of food color and koolaid is great. The acid used in the dyeing process makes it adhere to the yarn wonderfully! Koolaid has citric acid in it already, if using food color you need to add an acid source such as vinegar or citric acid.


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## lovelandjanice (Aug 8, 2012)

I think kool aid dyeing is my favorite way to dye. Looking forward to doing some snow dyeing with kool aide. Just need to wait for my order from Knitpicks to arrive with my bare yarn.


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## Julianna P (Nov 18, 2013)

lovelandjanice said:


> I think kool aid dyeing is my favorite way to dye. Looking forward to doing some snow dyeing with kool aide. Just need to wait for my order from Knitpicks to arrive with my bare yarn.


snow dying???


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

I absolutely love the colors you have achieved. Just stunning! The cardigan/shawl you are making is lovely and a great way to showcase your colors. You sure did spin a lot to get all that yarn......great project. I feel like I cannot tell you enough how pretty your yarn is.

It is great how you have your results on index cards with the formula you used. Can I ask....how did you know what percentage of the mix you needed to get the color? Did you just practice and do a hit and miss to figure that out?


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## Goodshepfarm (Jul 20, 2014)

Sounds like you are having fun!


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## Julianna P (Nov 18, 2013)

Cdambro said:


> I absolutely love the colors you have achieved. Just stunning! The cardigan/shawl you are making is lovely and a great way to showcase your colors. You sure did spin a lot to get all that yarn......great project. I feel like I cannot tell you enough how pretty your yarn is.
> 
> It is great how you have your results on index cards with the formula you used. Can I ask....how did you know what percentage of the mix you needed to get the color? Did you just practice and do a hit and miss to figure that out?


OH!! I didn't spin the yarn. It is from a giant cone of undyed merino from Miss Babbs. It was on sale, so I got two! I figured with fingering weight, I could always use multiple strands to make heavier weight yarn if needed, but 99% of what I knit is fingering.

I have about 20 cards I created one day. I wound 3 gram hanks and went to town. I diluted kool aid in (I think) 1/2 cup water and then mixed and matched the colors. I used 1-4 tablespoons most of the time, but used a teaspoon to just tone down the colors. The Carmel corn color is 24:1 orange and mixed berry. After the main color dried, I took small lengths and over dyed them using the other colors. So I have a lot to choose from. I knit the little sample to see how it would look and it made storing the samples easier.

BTW, I would never wear the shawl thing, I am going to take the pattern and turn it into a cardigan. The shawl looks stunning in the photo but I don't think it would work well for me in real life! Tonight I plan on winding the yarn into balls and then my favorite part - The Swatch!! That is when I figure out how to make it all work. I have it planned in my head, but that usually changes as I knit it up.


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## BirchPoint (Feb 12, 2016)

How fast do you knit???? I'm anxious to see your one of a kind cardigan! 
Anticipation. ...


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## Julianna P (Nov 18, 2013)

BirchPoint said:


> How fast do you knit???? I'm anxious to see your one of a kind cardigan!
> Anticipation. ...


I knit at a reasonable pace, but I work full time, so I don't knit all the time. My sweaters usually take 2-6 months to knit. I will post the swatch when it is done. I have at least four patterns I am looking at combining. I think an art deco inspired lace would finish the bottom really nicely. I have the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible and it has one that I like. I did buy the shawl pattern, but will be using someone elses ( https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Elizajane1234/catkin-2 she used three colors and two rows of circles) alternations as inspiration and finally figure out the number of stitches using a top down round yoke sweater pattern adapted to a deep V and A-line shape with flared sleeves at the wrist. I knit this sweater in turquoise kool-aid a few months ago and love the shape and fit. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ivy-line It doesn't have a round yoke, so it won't work exactly but it is the overall shape I am hoping to achieve. At least that is my direction for now.


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## kittygritty (Mar 2, 2015)

How fun. I'm about to try my first attempt using Turmeric. I did a one skein Kool Aid dye and it was fun.


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## BirchPoint (Feb 12, 2016)

Julianna P said:


> I knit at a reasonable pace, but I work full time, so I don't knit all the time. My sweaters usually take 2-6 months to knit. I will post the swatch when it is done. I have at least four patterns I am looking at combining. I think an art deco inspired lace would finish the bottom really nicely. I have the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible and it has one that I like. I did buy the shawl pattern, but will be using someone elses ( https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Elizajane1234/catkin-2 she used three colors and two rows of circles) alternations as inspiration and finally figure out the number of stitches using a top down round yoke sweater pattern adapted to a deep V and A-line shape with flared sleeves at the wrist. I knit this sweater in turquoise kool-aid a few months ago and love the shape and fit. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ivy-line It doesn't have a round yoke, so it won't work exactly but it is the overall shape I am hoping to achieve. At least that is my direction for now.


Wow! You are a sweater artist!
:sm24:


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

Julianna P said:


> I knit at a reasonable pace, but I work full time, so I don't knit all the time. My sweaters usually take 2-6 months to knit. I will post the swatch when it is done. I have at least four patterns I am looking at combining. I think an art deco inspired lace would finish the bottom really nicely. I have the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible and it has one that I like. I did buy the shawl pattern, but will be using someone elses ( https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Elizajane1234/catkin-2 she used three colors and two rows of circles) alternations as inspiration and finally figure out the number of stitches using a top down round yoke sweater pattern adapted to a deep V and A-line shape with flared sleeves at the wrist. I knit this sweater in turquoise kool-aid a few months ago and love the shape and fit. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ivy-line It doesn't have a round yoke, so it won't work exactly but it is the overall shape I am hoping to achieve. At least that is my direction for now.


Beautiful sweater and thank you for the explanation. I actually feel better knowing you didn't spin the yarn because thinking you did made me think I am such a loser because I don't think I could spin that much yarn if my life depended on it. ???? Again, your colors are beautiful and I hope you show your progress as you knit along.


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## Chemchic (Dec 16, 2012)

great colors! love your record-keeping, too. The far left color...is that a green? the formula..there are 2 on its card...what do they mean? you mixed up one formula and then took a part of that and made a new formula???


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## Julianna P (Nov 18, 2013)

Chemchic said:


> great colors! love your record-keeping, too. The far left color...is that a green? the formula..there are 2 on its card...what do they mean? you mixed up one formula and then took a part of that and made a new formula???


If I had to name the far left color, I would call it faded denim. It is a dark blue that has many lighter shades of blue in it. The top formula is for my original sample. The lower one is for this specific yarn. I wanted a way to document the color combination should I need more yarn. The original sample was equal parts grape and mixed berry. The sweater yarn was 2 grape, 3 mixed berry. The caramel corn one is actually 12:1 not 15:1. I used 1 package of "dye" for every 20 grams of yarn. I would have gotten more intense colors had I used the 1 per 10 grams recommended on many sites. It is just trial and error. I knew I could over dye them should I want more intense colors.

The swatch is started, should finish it tonight. I will post when it is done. The colors are a bit brighter than the photo.


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## desireeross (Jun 2, 2013)

Those turned out beautiful


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## Julianna P (Nov 18, 2013)

The swatch is started, should finish it tonight. I will post when it is done. The colors are a bit brighter than the photo.[/quote]

Still figuring things out, but here is what it is looking like. Didn't like the way the printed pattern look with the gold yarn, so will be using the simpler pattern. Too tired to work out the lace pattern tonight. I wanted to get the photo out before this topic completely times out and no one is watching any more


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

So pretty and I love how the colors are flowing. Perfect pattern to show the colors.


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## BirchPoint (Feb 12, 2016)

Your sample looks fantastic. Beautiful colors together


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## Reba1 (Feb 5, 2012)

That is going to be absolutely GORGEOUS! I love your dyeing, record keeping, thought process, all of it. Thank you so much for sharing. I am looking forward to watching as you progress through this sweater.


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