A few months back, I bought some great undyed wool yarn at a good price, with hopes of dying some for the purpose of making some cool wool covers for Nerdy Gerdy. With some quick internet searches, I found out that Koolaid is one of the best ways to dye wool yarn. Since that was pretty non-toxic, the kids were able to help me with the process.
David and I did the first batch while Silje was at school. After unwinding a skein of thread (I finally figured out that it was best to wind it around something, like a cereal box) we simply put a bit of water in an old wide mouth jar, and then dipped in the yarn. It only took a minute or two, and then we were done.
We put it in a 9×13 pan, and stuck it in a warm oven (200 degrees) for 10 minutes. That was to set the dye. Then we rinsed it gently in cold water, and set it out to dry. I just put it in our living room by the fireplace, and it dried quite nicely!
When Silje got home we had to try the black cherry and grape flavors, ahem, I mean colors.
First one color, and then the other. Besides getting our hands a bit colored for a few hours, it really wasn’t messy at all!
I think it’s turning out pretty cool! Don’t you think?
Ryan & Molly says
March 15, 2010 at 1:38 pmLooks like such a fun project! And it turned out beautiful!!
J and K Smith says
March 15, 2010 at 2:27 pmThat looks really neat and it is great to watch the kids having fun with you.
Penny says
March 15, 2010 at 2:44 pmThat looks amazing! I’ve never heard of that technique before, but I’ve never had undyed wool to play with before. I’ve always been afraid of wool, because of the “itchy blanket” issue, but after reading your store info about wool, I may have to give it a try.
amy + ryan says
March 15, 2010 at 2:55 pmWow, Gretchen, you’re amazing! I WANT that cover!!
Thorson's says
March 15, 2010 at 3:10 pmI love how randomly the colors are knitting up! I’ve wanted to try that for awhile too- so where’s a good place to get undyed wool?
Mary says
March 15, 2010 at 6:35 pmThat’s awesome. I love the color combinations, too!
Sonja says
March 15, 2010 at 8:54 pmI LOVE that cover! the yarn turned out AMAZING!! I just may have to fight amy for it! 🙂 you never cease to amaze me….boy do i wish i lived closer and could be a student of yours…someday i see a lot of playdates in our future….
j&kronnevik says
March 15, 2010 at 10:03 pmSo INCREDIBLY awesome!!!
Love you guys!
A says
March 16, 2010 at 1:38 amI am thrilled that you have an outlet for your amazing talents. What a way to reach out and inspire others. You really are the kind of stay at home mom that other moms want to be. Thanks for sharing so much with all of us.
Suz says
March 16, 2010 at 6:16 pmThis turned out WONDERFULLY well. I’m quite impressed.
And the blue-white-green combo has just the perfect Spring/Summer feel to it!
What fun!!!