Adventures in Dyeing

Note the spelling - that's dyeing, not dying. Although the latter is a definite adventure, it's not one I'd like to try for many more decades.

Anyway, I picked up a couple of skeins of Kashmira (100% Wool at Joann's) on clearance for this express purpose. It's a blueish grey, not a fun color at all. I've also been picking up a few packets of Kool Aid each time I hit the grocery store, so I'm all set.

Last week, I rewound the skeins around the legs of an upturned dining room chair. No pictures, sorry. For this, I'd much rather have a niddy-noddy. Must talk to Jason about getting one of those put together, I think.

Last night, I set the skeins in a soak of water with a couple of glugs of vinegar. Very exciting stuff, let me tell you.


I also chose my Kool Aid colors:

This morning, I drained the yarn and ran it through the spin cycle in the washer to get the excess moisture out. I held both skeins together and wound them into a spiraly lump in my large crock pot.

I used four glasses to mix my colors:

• Glass 1 - 1.5 cups water, three packets Cherry, one packet Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade
• Glass 2 - 1.5 cups water, three packets Watermelon Cherry
• Glass 3 - 1 cup water, one packet Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade
• Glass 4 - 1 cup water, one packet Berry Blue

We poured the blues in first, one on each end of the pot, followed by the Cherry in the center, and the Watermelon Cherry along the long edges. As we poured each color in, I squished the yarn gently to make sure it was soaking through. (I should have taken pictures of my red-dyed fingers before scrubbing them with baking soda!) I topped it off with a couple of cups of clear water - just enough to make sure the yarn was covered.

Afterwards, we set the crock pot to low, and we'll leave it until the dye exhausts (when the water is clear). Stay tuned for updates.