transformations

Transformation  n.  a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance; a metamorphosis

Back by popular demand (and I do mean repeated requests to feature this again) is a project involving dying yarn with Kool-Aid!  Oh… and the project involves felting, too!

First, let’s review dying yarn with Kool-Aid (first featured in July 2012). It’s simple and fun!

What you need:

Yarn

Unsweetened Kool-Aid (do not add sugar!!)

A large pot 

4-cup measuring cup

Bath towel

Rubber gloves and an apron might be useful, too, since Kool-Aid stains!

How to dye with Kool-Aid:

1.      Unwind yarn and form into hanks of 70-80 yards.  Using the back of a chair is handy for this if you don't own a swift.  Or… a willing volunteer!  ☺

2.      Tie the hanks in 5 or 6 places to hold the yarn together.  Use acrylic yarn for the ties so it is easy to find them when you are done.

3.      Wash the yarn in mild soap (don't swish or wring it; just gently squeeze it).  Then let it soak in clean water until you are ready to place it in the dye.

4.      Dissolve Kool-Aid in 4 cups of water.  For a softer mottled look, use one package.  For a more intense colour, use 1-1/2 packages.

5.      Pour Kool-Aid into your pot.  Place yarn in the pot (don't bother to press any water out of it) and add enough water to cover the yarn.

6.      Heat the yarn-filled pot to almost boiling.  Turn off the stove and let the yarn rest in the water for 20-30 minutes.  You'll know the yarn is ready when the water is mostly clear … and it will be!  If it's not, just repeat this step again.

7.      When the water is mostly clear, gently remove the yarn and rinse it in a sink of water that is roughly the same temperature as the dying pot.  Colder water may shock the yarn and cause felting.

8.      Rinse again until water runs clear.

9.      Remove hank gently from the water and press out some of the water.  Place the hank on a clean bath towel and roll it up.

10.   Unroll and hang to dry.

11.      Once dry, the wool can be wound into balls for knitting. 

Here are the colours I used for this month’s project (I used 2 pack of Kool-Aid for each colour):

Now, this is where we take a leap into new territory … this month’s project also involves felting!!

For this project I used Lionbrand Fisherman’s Wool (Natural colour). This can be bought at any Michael’s and works wonderfully for dying and felting.  One skein is enough for this project.  I split it into 85-90 yard hanks. 

I thought it would be fun to make a felted beach bag with the brightly coloured Kool-Aid-dyed yarn. If you’ve never felted before this is a great project to start with. Felting involves shrinking and compressing the wool fibres.  With some hot water, cold water and agitation the magic happens!

To felt this beach bag I dropped it into my washing machine with a pair of jeans.  I used the small load setting on the longest regular wash cycle using hot wash and cold rinse. When the wash cycle was done, so was my felting!  Then I simply took the bag out and laid it flat to dry.  Voila!  A fun, bright Felted Beach Bag.  

Do you know a child who is learning to knit?  Let them use the left-over scraps of Kool-Aid yarn to make some felted coasters.  Just knit a square about 5-1/2”wide by 7” long (the shrinkage in felting is about 40% lengthwise and 25% width-wise using Lionbrand Fisherman’s Wool).  Felt in the same way as for the bag.