After making our own knitting needles a few months ago, I knew that B would need some extra special wool for her first knitting project. I decided the best kind would be the kind she made herself! We aren't quite ready to start spinning our own so I settled with dyeing.
Dyeing wool with Kool Aid is a great project for kids and grown ups. We really enjoyed playing with colours and I'm certain there are many more skeins to be dyed in our future.
What You'll Need
- wool (make sure it is 100% natural fibres...we choose wool. Acrylic will not work.)
- Kool Aid in colours of your choice
- a garbage bag or table cloth to protect your work surface
- spray bottle (s)
Start by undoing your skein so it's wrapped in a large loop. Tie sections off so that it won't get all tangled up. We also used these ties to mark where we were going to change colours.
Clean the wool with a mild soap or wool wash. Make sure to use water that isn't too hot or cold and to be very gentle...you don't want your wool to felt!
Leave the wool to soak in clean water.
Mix your Kool Aid and water in a spray bottle (don't add sugar!). How much water will depend on how bright you want your colours. Less= more vibrant colour.
Gently squeeze out your wool and place it on your work surface.
Start spraying the wool with your Kool Aid. Try to get the wool fully saturated. You may have to turn the skein and/ or pull apart the strands a little to get the Kool Aid everywhere.
Once you've finished with the Kool Aid, put the wool in a microwave safe dish and microwave it for 2 minutes to set the colours.
Once it has cooled, rinse the wool in water (remember, the water shouldn't be too hot or too cold) until the water runs clear.
Hang to dry.
Roll up your wool.
Now grab your home made knitting needles and knit something awesome!
Where I Share:Pintorials, Good Tips Tuesday
What a great project for kids! It looks like a lot of fun spraying the wool.
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