Dying Wool

With my newfound love of needlefelting, came a love for all things wool. I LOVE THIS STUFF!!! It still makes me itch but I'm still so in love! This love included dying. From the moment my "wool lady" told me I would have to dye it myself I was a mix of emotions: excitement over saying I did everything involved in the felting process (minus the raising and harvesting of the sheep/wool), apprehension over renting an apartment with white counters, sinks, walls, and flooring and curiousity over the concept of dying wool with Kool-aid. Emotions aside, I began my adventure. I went to the grocery store and grabbed 2 packets of each flavor...and threw it into my cart with nothing but all natural and organic foods. The checker thought I was crazy...I could see it in her eyes. "I'm dying wool, I wouldn't really use this for consumption!" I said with a giggle. She still thought I was crazy...

So, there I was in the middle of my kitchen....staring at a bajillion envelopes of artifical coloring...I mean Kool-aid.

Wool in one hand, and cookware in the other I winged it. I had read a handful of articles on how to accomplish this task but they were all so different so I winged it. And it worked!!!

Step #1:
Soak your wool in water. I used a "neutral" temperatured water for fear of felting. I left it sit in there for around 15 minutes.



Step #2:
I added 2 packets of Kool-aid into my glass "noodle-pot" and filled it up with water. One article mentioned it didn't matter the ratio of water to Kool-aid and that it mattered the ratio of Kool-aid to wool. This made sense to me and it worked out well. I put the concoction on the stove, added a blob or two of wool and stirred it around. I kept the water scalding hot, but not boiling for the entire process. It "sets" the dye from my understanding-and you do NOT need to use vinegar as the kool-aid has enough acid in it.




...And watched it. And watched it. And watched it. And watched it.
And the water around the wool went clear!!!

Step #3:
I drained the water and put the sopping wet wool into a metal bowl. After about 5 minutes I added water a little bit cooler than the wool itself (for fear of felting, again) and swooshed it around. The water continued to be clear when I squeezed the wool!! After a few rinsings I set my wool, spread out a bit, into the nearby dishpan.



Step #4:
I moved the wool to a towel on my kitchen table and continued to dry it. I pressed it down every now and then (taking GREAT care not to rub it at all...for fear of felting)



IT WORKED!!
I was so proud of myself!! I've been felting Madelyn little gnome or elf things with my dyed wool... and I'm so happy with the results!!

Here are some more pictures from my experience:


Black Cherry


I pulled out some of the "grape" wool early and some color did come out in the water...but the final color was just what I wanted.


I had Kool-aid envelopes all over the place.


I started to get better at dying more than one...hehe