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.
