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Yarn Dyeing with a Pro
Doesn’t this yarn look delicious? And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Today my GR Press art & craft column is about Rita Petteys’ Yarn Hollow yarn business. I had a great time visiting her studio where all the color magic happens. She let me try my hand at dyeing and this the lovely sock yarn I dyed under her supervision:
Rita doesn’t dye yarn with Kool-Aid, but she inspired me to go home and give that a try. I’ve decided that I’m going to leave the professional yarn dyeing to talented people like Rita, but I still want to dye some of the boring wool I have stashed in my basement without investing in commerical dyes I don’t know how to use. Rita suggested Kool-Aid dyeing, so I did some research and gave it a whirl. Kool-Aid dyeing turned out to be perfect for me because it smells great and is non-toxic so Abby and Amelia can help out. Bonus!
Here is my Kool-Aid dyed wool:
I painted the big skein and Abby and I cooked the little skeins in glass pots of Kool-Aid in the microwave. If you want to try it, download a pdf of some basic instructions I wrote for basic Kool-Aid dyeing. It’s fun, so enjoy!
I’ll be posting this week’s episode of CraftSanity later today.
Posted: March 30th, 2008 under Craft Columns, Crafting with Kids, Dyeing.
Comments: 7
Comments
Comment from Alessandra
Time: March 30, 2008, 9:50 am
I’ll try it sometime, yours turned out great!!
Comment from Stephanie
Time: March 30, 2008, 1:50 pm
I find this facinating, and I sooo want to try it.
Do the kool aid dyed colors wash out when you later wash, say a Poncho you crochet or knitted with the yarn??
I think this rocks and I love your instructions! I think I could do that!!! thanks!!
Comment from Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood
Time: March 30, 2008, 2:45 pm
Thanks for your comments, ladies.
Stephanie, the Kool-Aid color is set after you “cook” it into the wool, so you should be good to go.
Comment from Dee Bellini
Time: April 2, 2008, 8:08 am
Well, Stephanie, all I can say is if the red stains on my carpet are any indication, Kool Aid color is set for life.
Comment from Rita
Time: April 6, 2008, 12:55 pm
Jennifer – thanks for the amazing article and great pictures! I love how your yarn turned out – both batches!
Call me anytime if you want to play some more!
Rita
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Time: September 15, 2008, 8:16 pm
[...] Liz achieves with natural dyes. So lovely. The only yarn dyeing I’ve attempted has involved Kool-Aid. I wrote some basic Kool-Aid dyeing instructions for my newspaper craft column a while back. [...]
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Time: October 30, 2011, 7:47 pm
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