Natalie at Organic Stills recently posted about her yarn dyeing project. There are many tutorials about dyeing with drink mix, but Natalie actually used Kool-Aid she bought at the dollar store (12 packs for $1). She dyed yarn she got from unraveling a thrift store sweater.
If you are unfamiliar with the concept of unraveling sweaters for yarn, check out this tutorial. You’re unlikely to find suitable yarn to dye at the dollar store!
There are tons of tutorials that have detailed instructions for dyeing with Kool-aid, but here’s another one from Knitty.com.
I also LOVE the concept of dyeing part of a sweater BEFORE you unravel it, as detailed in this article by Lee Meredith on Craftstylish.
Project Estimate:
- Wool yarn, or unraveled thrift store sweater, $3 or so
- Drink Mix, 12 for $1
- Dish soap, on hand
- Microwave-safe dish, on hand
- Plastic wrap, on hand
Total cost: $4
4 Comments
Vone
I remember back in the day dyeing my hair with Kool-aid. I wish I knit – I love the idea.
Andi
I created a PDF file with a “ball band” with blanks that can be filled out with all of the pertinent information for your reclaimed thrift-shop sweater yarn. It’s free to use for anyone who wants to reclaim some sweaters but doesn’t really know yet what they want to do with the yarn.
http://mysticspiralstudio.blogspot.com/2007/10/reclaiming-unloved-yarns.html
jennifer
Does the kool-aid stay permanent or does it wash out with each wash?
heather
It’s permanent on animal-based yarns (wool, alpaca, etc.). It isn’t permanent on plant-based yarns like cotton!