Fun With Kool Aid

Monday night marked my first attempt at dyeing with Kool-Aid. I attempted this as part of a Ravelry exchange in the Monthly Adventures group. We exchanged packages with some goodies and packages of Kool-Aid....that was part I. Part II is the fun part - we were to dye a skein of yarn and send it to the person who sent us the Kool-Aid package. Part III begins in September where we'll be doing a Knit-a-Long (KAL) with our dyed skeins. This exchange has been a LOT of fun - just as all our exchanges have been!

I had two skeins of yarn to dye - one skein for me, and one for my "Kool-Aid Pal". My pal had sent me instructions on how to dye with two main ways of dyeing - painting/pouring the dye on the yarn for multi-colored yarn or dyeing it by boiling it in a pot for a more uniform dye job. I decided to split each skein and dye half of a skein one way, and the other half, a second way.

First, I soaked the skeins to thoroughly wet them in preparation for dyeing. I laid out the first two skeins (one for my pal, one for me) on a large black plastic bag. I mixed up the first color - "Black Cherry" and applied it with a small baster.









I then added some purple and "squeezed" the reds and the purples into each other for blending. I also "dotted" some purple on the reds. I then "rolled" the baster over the colored sections to help blend and spread the colors. What I found was that sometimes, the purple "fractured" into a reddish and a blue, so I didn't get as true of a purple as I had hoped. Then, I added the blue "dye" and blended the edges again.

I was a bit disappointed at how the colors looked together. I like all the colors, but they just didn't "pop" like I expected them to. I think I need some more practice at the "hand-painting" style of dyeing!

I decided to dye the second skein for each of us in a turquoise-blue. I only had one more packet of the blue I used in the first skein, so there wasn't going to be enough to really saturate it with color. I rummaged through my Kool-Aid stash and found that I had two packets of "Ice Blue", so I used that instead. I LOVE this color....it reminds me of Easter!




The skeins were then hung in my shower to dry. Luckily, with the AC on, they dry pretty quickly - which is a good thing as they need to be mailed on the 30th at the latest!






The dried skeins look better than I'd originally thought they would. The way the colors blend when twisted together is much more pleasing than when they were hanging in my shower. I definitely like the solid turquoise as a contrast to the multi-colored. I'm finished! One turquoise skein and one multi-colored skein for my pal....and one set of the same for me. I can't wait to see what our KAL project will be - I know it will be something fabulous and fun!


Although I'd hoped to finish the Chevron scarf on Sunday, I didn't get it finished until Monday evening. I love how it turned out - the color and the subtle patterning are very pleasing...makes me ALMOST wish for the colder weather so I can wear it! The scarf definitely needs to be blocked though - the sides have a tendency to curl under otherwise.




Finally, I have made some progress on my Galaxy socks - I've completed the heel shaping. I'm ready to pick up the stitches for the gusset. Wahoo!