KNITTING
101 with Lisa and Danielle
Dyeing Yarn
II. Dyeing Yarn
Pull out your beautiful cream or white yarn. Get ready for fun. If you have some rubber gloves laying around, they might be nice to keep your hands clean, but the KoolAid will wash out after a few days if you do get your hands stained. Or, try this tip from Stephenie - Cascase dishwasher detergent. Washes the stains right off your hands!
If you decided to purchase the Fishermans' yarn, you will need to wind it into a hank. If you purchased most other types of yarns, you may already have a hank.
To make your yarn into a hank: slowly unwind your yarn into a 2 foot oval. This could take awhile so be patient. Once this is done, it is easiest if you take a small amount of yarn and tie each end of the oval to keep the yarn together for dyeing. Next, fill a sink with water adding a glug of vinegar. Place your hank in the water to soak while you get your dye ready.
You will want to use 1/4c warm water per packet of KoolAid for extra vibrant colors. If you plan on using blue or purple though, use closer to 1c warm water for each packet of KoolAid.
Wring your yarn of water, and place back into the oval shape on a flat surface. You can now apply your “paints” using whatever you have on hand, large paintbrushes, a pastry brush, a turkey baster etc. If you want some minimal stripey variegation, you can just paint half of your hank one color and half another. Or you can paint whatever you want. This is fun! If you are ambitious, let your kids help!
When your yarn is well-saturated with KoolAid, fold your hank to have it fit in a casserole dish and place in the microwave. (No microwave? See this neat link for other ways to dye with KoolAid: http://www.woolfestival.com/articles/koolaid.htm) Cook on high for 2 minutes. Let yarn sit for 2 minutes and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from microwave and let cool for about 30 minutes. When the yarn is cool enough to be handled, rinse with warm water until water runs clear. Hang yarn to dry. It will take 24-60 hours to dry.
