Over-dyeing Woolease - has anyone else tried?

[rina]

I had some Woolease the color of which I wasn't crazy about (dark antique rose or some such), so I over-dyed a ball with Grape and Black Cherry Kool-Aid, one packet each.

 

 

The ball is the original yarn color; the hank has been dyed. I like the result, basically an enriched tone. But I'm not sure about the procedure; it was too much yarn to microwave, so I brought the yarn and dye water to near-boiling. I think some of the acrylic got scorched; the texture definitely got a little rougher. Think I'll try the steamer basket the next time... :thinkbut has anyone else tried to over-dye Woolease with food dye? I don't want to use anything toxic--and food dye is so easy and carefree...

[rina]

Hm, guess no one cares to comment? Anyway, I'm crocheting a vest with this yarn, and I love the way it looks! The rich, variegated tone-on-tone makes it look "expensive." Quite a deal, for about $2.30 a ball plus 50 cents worth of Kool-Aid. Definitely gotta make more.

[hooked2]

Hi Rina,

 

Just read your posts and wanted to tell you that the new color is beautiful ()! It looks like one of those big, ripe grapes you sometimes buy at the market! The sweater you're making should be lovely!

 

I've never overdyed any yarn at all, so it's great to know that it can be done. And with Kool-aid of all things ()! A question though: will you lose any of the new color when you wash the sweater? Or will you need to get it dry cleaned?

[rina]

Thank you for the note. Assuming it's the wool fibers (not acrylic) that picked up the color, it shouldn't lose its colors in the wash. I gave it hand wash immediately after the dye job, and the water ran clear after one rinse. Kool-Aid (you have to use the concentrated flavor packets with no sugar) has enough acid to fix the dye on protein fibers. But since I did it stovetop and used more water, I added a little vinegar just in case.

 

I did another batch and let the water heat until it started steaming, then shut it off and covered. Worked perfectly, and the fibers stayed soft.

[losingmymind2]

Oh that is beautiful! I love the results, and it should hold in a cold wash. I use a little extra vinegar too, just in case.

[sammimag]

I'm inspired. I'm not excited with the colors in woolease so maybe I''l give this a try some day.

[shadow]

I was wondering if I can dye acrylic yarn. Does anyone know?

[rina]

thank you ladies!

 

I was wondering if I can dye acrylic yarn. Does anyone know?

 

Technically you can, but you can't use the pots/utensils again for food use. See http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/acrylic.shtml. Some natural fiber dyes require this, too. But I like dyeing with food dye (which can only be used on protein fibers) because it's completely nontoxic.

[clocke]

Does the kool-aid need to be a similar color to the wool-ease?

[rina]

Does the kool-aid need to be a similar color to the wool-ease?

 

That's a question I've been pondering. The main thing about over-dyeing Woolease is that you're dyeing the wool part, not the acrylic part. So you need to use medium to dark colors; the light colors can wind up looking awful, as if the fibers are dirty.

 

What I've done is tone on tone, enriching the existing color and making it more complex. But as long as you pick a dye that complements the original color, it should be okay. For instance, yellow or blue on green. Or, creating purple flecks on blue yarn by adding red. This is still theoretical; I haven't tried it myself. Since 75% of the fibers are non-dyeable, whatever colors you use, the result is a heathered look.

 

I'm totally psyched about this now; I'm knitting a first sweater with my overdyed Woolease, and my friend raved about how the yarn looks much more expensive and feels soft.

[clocke]

Oh, I had wondered about the heathered look actually. Good to know about the complimentary colors idea; it may be time to see what colors of kool-aid there are next time I go shopping.

[rina]

I should have specified, use medium to dark colors of Woolease to start with.