How to Dye Wool and Yarn with Dye or Kool-Aid
Welcome to my sunny kitchen on the Oregon Coast! Today we're going to lean how to dye wool. The supplies you will need are as follows:
 Here is my collection of dyes. I used to dye with Kool-Aid, but I go thru soooo much wool it got expensive. I use Country Classics & Wiltons dyes. You can find Wiltons dyes for under $3 each in the cake decorating aisle. One little container probably dyes 5 pounds of wool. So they're really economical. |
 Fill your stock pot with water. Enough water to fully submerge the wool you're dyeing. Too much water and it will take longer to dye. Not enough water and you'll get white pockets in the wool. You can get a cheap canning or lobster pot at your local thrift store. |
 Put a solid couple of "glug gluggs" of vinegar into the water. Probably about 2 cups of vinegar. I use a LOT of vinegar when I dye. The more vinegar, the faster the dye will absorb. The faster the dye absorbs, the more wool I can dye in one day. If 1 pound of wool isn't "done" in 20 minutes - it's taking too long (usually because there isn't enough vinegar). |
 Here is the wool I'm dyeing. It's merino from the 2007 Oregon State Fair. Any wool would work, as well as angora, alpaca, and any animal/protein fiber. Silk works too! But cotton will NOT work with this dye process. You need a different chemical reaction to dye cotton. |
 While the water is heating (before boiling) put the wool in and press it down with your potato masher. |
 When the wool is simmering happily and making "putt putt putt" sounds, put in 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of Wiltons Dye. Or sprinkle on Kool-Aid. For an all-over color, add the dye to the water FIRST before you add the wool. For a tie-dye look, choose 3 colors and put them in opposite "corners" of the bowl (as if making a triangle) |
 Wait to mix until the very end if you want a tie-dye effect. You can tell part of the wool here is still white, while the yellow is absorbing in. If you are making a tie-dye skein of yarn, or wool - ADD LIGHT COLORS FIRST. If you add dark colors you will waste too much yellow/pink/light dyes trying to get them to mix, and it will all look dark and gross. So add your light colors first. Always. |
 After the yellow has established itself (simmered for a minute or so) I add green and purple. Remember not to mix! If you want lots of different colors, leave it alone! The more mixing = the more uniform the color. And wool felts easily, so the less you mess with it - the softer and more manageable it will be to work with. |
 After 10 minutes of happy boiling/simmering (not too violent, but still active!) press down on the wool with your potato masher. The water should be clear, which means the wool absorbed all the dye. If the water still has color, add another cup of vinegar and simmer for another 10 minutes. If the water is clear - you've added enough vinegar!! With some Kool-Aid dyes, the water will be a milky white when it's done simmering = no dye left in the water. |
 Scoop the yarn from the simmering pot into a plastic container for transport into the drying room. Tongs work well if you don't have the potato masher balance yet. |
 There is some white left because I didn't add a LOT of dye, and I wanted plenty of different colors. The more dye you add - the less white you will have. Gently submerging the wool in the pot with your potato masher after adding the dye will help there be no white wool left over. |
 One benefit of dyeing wool "my way" is you can re-use the water with your next batch of wool. So it doesn't waste a lot of water. |
 My husband built me these wool drying racks with some plastic netting and pieces of wood. They work pretty good! |
 It will be VERY hot, so let it steam off for a while and then you can spread it out to dry. When it no longer feels "cold" to the touch - it is dry. Wool can hold up to 30% of it's weight in water without feeling wet, so don't put it in a plastic bag too soon or it will smell bad. Keep it open to the air for a good couple of weeks before you seal it in a plastic bag. |