How-To Dye a Kool-Aid Yarn Fade

When KnitPicks had their huge sale – I got a lot of bare yarn for $5! I wanted to show how you can dye your own yarn at an affordable price! This yarn dyed in a fade is even more perfect! (Just wait to see what I do with mine!)

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Materials:

3 Bare Yarn Hanks from KnitPicks – I used this Preciosa base which is 100% Merino Wool in Fingering Weight (Sooooo soft!)
Kool-Aid – I used 18 packs total: 6 Cherry, 5 Black Cherry, and 7 Grape
Zip Ties or Shower Curtain rings
Pot(s) for cooking/Soaking
Spoon

Step 1:

Put the zip ties or shower curtain rings on your yarn to keep it from getting tangled and making it easier to pull out of the pot of water!

Step 2:

Soak your yarn for at least 30 minutes in warmish-cool tap water. You can soak all three of the skeins together at once.

Step 3:

Fill your pot up with enough water to cover the yarn and have room to move around. I usually fill the pot about 2/3 full with warmish-cool tap water.

Step 4:

Add your Kool-Aid. Mix until fully dissolved.

{For the Red color- add 6 packs of Cherry.}

{For the Burgundy color – add 5 packs of Black Cherry and 1 Grape.}

{For the Purple color – Add 6 packs of Grape.}

NOTE: If you want to use a different color – you can tell what color the mixture will be by looking at the pitcher on the front of the Kool-Aid packet. Sometimes, you think it will be a certain color based on the name, but you need to look at the picture to be sure!

Step 5:

Wring out the water from the yarn soaking and add the yarn to your pot with the color in it. Gently submerge the yarn gently agitate to make sure you get full coverage.

If you only have 1 pot, you’ll need to do them one at a time. I used the same process for each color! If you have three pots and enough space on your stove, you can do all of them at once!

Step 6:

Turn the heat on your stove to medium low and allow it to heat up over 30 minutes. Gently agitate the yarn half way through to make sure the colors are exhausting evenly!

Step 7:

After the 30 minutes, turn the heat off. Allow the yarn to cool down in the pot before washing it. You can also check to make sure all of the color is exhausted by pushing your spoon down to see if you still see color. If it’s not fully exhausted, let it sit a little bit longer.

Step 8:

Remove the yarn from the pot and gently rinse it out with warm-cool water and add a little bit of soap to make sure it’s cleaned and rinse again and until the water is running clear!