Kool Aid Popsicle Dyeing

I came across a DIY post on Tumblr that showed how you can freeze watercolor paints in ice cube trays and then use the frozen paints to "draw" on fabric or paper. I instantly thought I could do that with Kool Aid and yarn! I just had to wait for my Oregon "summer" to cooperate. I needed it to get sunny and warm enough to melt the ice cubes.

NOTE: This technique will NOT work on cotton. Kool Aid and food coloring will only dye wool, silk or other animal fiber/hair.

Remember to wear your gloves! I took one packet of Kool Aid and mixed it with just enough water to fill 3 ice cube sections (do not add sugar! Just KA and water.) Then I froze them.

I used:

Kool Aid grape

Kool Aid strawberry

Klass brand pineapple

Klass brand hibiscus

Klass is a Mexican version of Kool Aid that I picked up at a Latino grocery store.

I soaked my WOOL yarn in warm water and vinegar for about a half an hour. I gently squeezed out the water and then laid it into a glass 9x13 baking pan. I put the frozen dye cubes on top and set it outside in direct sunlight.

When I first put the dye cubes on the yarn.

After an hour in the sun.

Once it was completely melted- in my case about an hour and a half- I covered it with saran wrap to help raise the heat and incubate the yarn. In hindsight, I could have just covered it when I first put it outside to melt. You need the yarn to reach about 180 degrees Fahrenheit (really, you just need it to be HOT!) to set the dye in the yarn. You could also cook the yarn in your oven or microwave it for a few minutes but I wanted this to be a solar project. So I covered it and left it outside all day.

Yarn steaming in the sun.

You'll know it's done when your baking dish is hot and the liquid in the yarn is clear- that means that the yarn has absorbed all of the dye. Bring yarn inside and let it cool down to room temperature. I then gently washed the yarn in warm water with some Eucalan (again there should be no dye washing off- your yarn bath should be clear. If it is running color, stop washing immediately and put back outside to cook some more. Or wrap it in saran wrap and nuke it in the microwave for a few minutes.) Gently squeeze the water out and then allowed it to air dry.

I'd say this was a total success!

Name: Summer Popsicle

Yarn: Knit Picks Bare Peruvian Highland Wool

Weight: Bulky

Yards: 137 yards

Update! See more Kool Aid Popsicle yarn that I dyed with notes and tips on this post.