Checking Off Knitting Goals 2011

I am bummed to not have better pictures on this experience. I had some awesome pictures taken for each stage of this process. My computer had different ideas on what to do with the images. I have had some major computer problems and lost most of my pictures from this experiment. I am bummed because they were great pictures. Oh well, tis the risks when being a slave to technology.

One of my knitting goals for 2011 was to try Kool Aid Yarn Dyeing. I was really anxious to try this after seeing a great tutorial over on Tiny Twist Creative. I had some stash yarn, for it was something I wanted to try last year but wasn’t on my “goal” list.

At my LYS, I got the “Dye for Me” merino, cashmere, silk blend by Plymouth Yarns. It is a specialty yarn made for dyeing projects. It is a very soft lace weight yarn. We used 4 packages of kool aid, pink lemonade, black cherry, grape and fruit punch.

We added water and vinegar to the crockpot. I didn’t have measurements, but an almost full crockpot with a half cup of vinegar if I had to guess. After letting the yarn soak for 15 mins in the water and vinegar mix, it was simple. We just added kool aid.

This is where I lost all my pictures. I had great shots of all the colors in the pot, rinsing and it drying, but alas, they are gone. So, to explain, we dumped one packet on each corner of the crockpot and pushed it down a bit with a spoon. The color soaked up very quickly. I left it a bit longer because I wanted a more uniform looking yarn. Once the color is gone from the water, we rinsed it until the water ran clear. That didn’t take long at all. The color really attaches fast. Then we hung it to dry. This is the result…

It was so simple and fun. We will definitely try it again. Next time I think I will try to use more kool aid and possibly get a darker richer color. But what a fantastic project for the kids and another goal to check off the list!

Happy Knitting!