Dyed with food colouring!

[nataleeza]

I've been so envious for so long of Koolaid dying, but it's almost impossible to get Koolaid here in NZ. So, I tried using liquid food colour, and it looks beautiful. I almost want to crochet it up just to see how it looks! (but I'll wait until I find a good pattern)

 

Here it is!

 

 

It's so beautiful I want to cry

 

There's more info here, on my blog.

[crochetdiva]

Wow!!! It is really beautiful!!! I love it!

[Reba]

That's so gorgeous! I'm reading your blog entry right now, to find out how I can do it! Did you figure out the dying process yourself? I've dyed some yarn with kool-aid before, your post has inspired me to maybe post some pics of it.

 

Do you know what you're going to crochet with it?

[NurseFrawg]

Ohhhh my! That yarn is very very yummy! I have yet to venture into the dyeing world. Some day maybe... I know that I have been eyeing some sheep:2sheep in my neighborhood. (Okay so maybe neighborhood is a stretch)

Elizabeth

[losingmymind2]

That is absolutely lovely. I want to start dying one of these days....when I can get my hands on the right wool, that is.

 

Kathy

[Stacey]

That's beautiful! Looks good enough to eat

[nataleeza]

Thanks everyone - this is the best place to get praise! My partner appreciated that I'd done it myself, but really didn't appreciate the beauty of it

Did you figure out the dying process yourself?

I read some instructions on Koolaid dying (I forget where, how terrible...) and I've been reading the Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook which has loads of good dying info. I kinda worked out what was needed (vinegar, soaking, dye heat) and then guessed how I should do it with food colouring.

Do you know what you're going to crochet with it?

No idea! I just woke up on Saturday and knew that it was the day I was going to try dying yarn . I might make this shrug, but I'm not sure if the colours will be too bright on me.

[carrieanne]

Oh, I LOVE it. Those colors are great....just beautiful!

[kellyv]

Thats it I must try dying!! That yarn looks sooooo wonderful!!!! I am going to your blog to check out how to do this.

[mamaoso]

Went to Hancock on Sat. had coupon for 20% off a skein. Up 6 skeins. got some wool just waiting to be dyed.. I think using food dye you can get more different colors then with kool-aid. All you need is Red, Blue and Yellow to make all colors...

[xantha]

All you need is Red, Blue and Yellow to make all colors...

 

Not exactly true -- if you want teals and pinks and deep deep purples, the neon color food coloring actually works much better. It's just about impossible to get a good bright pink with red/blue/yellow.

 

The dyed yarn looks great!

[nataleeza]

Yeah, about pink... I wasn't too happy with the colour of my pink, I wanted it a bit rosier but couldn't work out how to do it... But I found this food colouring color chart online, and for the rose pink it says to add a little blue.

 

I'm sure that would work, as the blue would tone down the reddyness of it. I highly recommend The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook (I borrowed it from our library, and now I'm going to buy it) for a really good explanation of how to make muted colours with the complementary colour.

 

I'll have to try it as soon as I can, but it's my sister's 21st this weekend, so it probably won't be until the following weekend

 

I'll let you all know when I've given it a try (I've just scored 400g of DK cream wool, it's whiteness is calling out for colour!)

[kahud48]

The colors are so vivid. Thank you for giving it a try, turned out so bright.

Now we have something else we want to add to our

(mile long) list .

Very pretty.

[mamaoso]

Not exactly true -- if you want teals and pinks and deep deep purples, the neon color food coloring actually works much better. It's just about impossible to get a good bright pink with red/blue/yellow.

 

The dyed yarn looks great!

My art prof is going to love this....

Sorry, I guess I worded it wrong. Should have said that you can make MO

ST all colors....But, I can get teal without neon.

[Catana]

Beautiful colors. I bought some food dye but haven't tried it yet. I've had good luck with Kool-Aid, but I think the food dye is probably more concentrated so you can get more intense colors. At least that's my impression.

[superfurry]

oooh uncanny. i bought food colouring yesterday and have been trying to get more info on dyeing with it. although we can get koolaid (here) i can't see me doing much experimenting since i've heard you might need 4 or 5 sachets per skein at 45p (80 cents) each

 

thanks for the walkthrough - can anyone say whether the same mixture should work but baked in the oven or steamed? i don't have a microwave. actually come to think of it i'm sure i read somewhere that food dyes don't take much heat to set and you can just leave them out in the sun. anyone tried that?

 

i know i should just get on and do my own experiments but i'm fibreless i'm waiting for a huge order and trying to console myself by reading as many other peoples' adventures as possible.

[nataleeza]

can anyone say whether the same mixture should work but baked in the oven or steamed? i don't have a microwave. actually come to think of it i'm sure i read somewhere that food dyes don't take much heat to set and you can just leave them out in the sun. anyone tried that?

 

I'm pretty sure I've read that you can leave them in the sun, and do it that way.... Anyone else hear that?

and judging from my (so far very limited ) experience, it doesn't take much heat to set food colour. I'd heated up the yarn and dye, and a lot of the dye had taken before I'd even gotten it to the microwave.

 

I think the main idea is to get it hot. I feel like I should add a disclaimer because I'm only guessing

 

But, there's always over dying if it doesn't work the first time!

[superfurry]

it works! i did it in jars. i used 1/4 cup vinegar to approx 1 1/4 pints water, 25 drops of colour and 1oz wool. then i set all the jars in a big pan and put it over a gentle heat. by the time it was coming up to the boil the dyes had exhausted. i got really vibrant colours, if not quite the ones i wanted! next time i'd put more colour in, but i'm coming round to the unevenness in the dye, i really like the subtle shading.

 

if anyone wants to see it's all up on my blog.

[dudleyspinner]

That is very pretty yarn! If you can wait until Easter, grab up some dye kits after they go on sale. The colors are very similar. I dye roving with it and it is so fast and easy. I use about 3 tabs of each color for about 10 ouces of wool roving. I am sure yarn would work too.

Deb

http://www.dudleyspinner.com/

[jenuine226]

Do you know how well the color stays in the yarn with the food coloring method? Does it bleed/wash out when it is washed?

[nataleeza]

If you can wait until Easter, grab up some dye kits after they go on sale. The colors are very similar.

That sounds really interesting! But we don't really dye eggs here in NZ, and I imagine that to buy egg dye anytime would be pretty expensive, I have seen it though, so I guess that's a bonus!

 

Do you know how well the color stays in the yarn with the food coloring method? Does it bleed/wash out when it is washed?

Well, not yet! I still haven't made anything out of it... I've heard that it's pretty colourfast though. Anyone else?

But when I washed it after I dying, there was no bleeding then. And that would be the time it's most likely to bleed.

[jenuine226]

OH, that is really exciting, I might just have to try it out!

[deneen]

Beautiful!

[superfurry]

just wanted to report that the colours didn't hold up very well to the temps involved in felting. but that said i was trying to convince the most relucant fibre so it went through a long 90º wash, perhaps if it had been merino or something else that felts easier it wouldn't have been such a problem.

 

the colours are still there, but very washed out

[nataleeza]

just wanted to report that the colours didn't hold up very well to the temps involved in felting...

 

the colours are still there, but very washed out

 

That's a real shame I'm planning to do a bit of felting with my dyed yarn. Although I normally hand felt so the water is hot to the touch, but not so hot it hurts my hands (learned that one the hard way!), maybe that would make a difference?

 

I'm dying some more yarn today *evil laugh* so when I get enough to do a bit of felting, I'll let you all know how mine went!