I subscribed to KnitCrate last month on a whim after seeing people post about it on one of the facebook groups I’m in. I got a code to get my first KnitCrate for $5 and I figured, why not? (If you want to try it for $5, you can use my link – for my referral, I’d get a month free. Then you can get a code to share and get a month free for every one of your referrals, too! It’s really a give-give situation.) I got the BEST crate ever! It’s like they were reading my mind or creeping on my convos.
Sometime in the last couple months I was musing with a friend about how I’d like to dye yarn. I wasn’t sure if I should take on a new hobby involving yarn. I keep getting packages of yarn and my husband is starting to wonder about all the packages I have coming. Some are for my businesses and some are for my hobbies. I’d say they are about equal in deliveries. I don’t think there should be so much concern. In any case, imagine my surprise when I opened up to this:
The yarn is so squishy! It is a 75% Merino / 25% Nylon sock base. I don’t typically use sock yarn because it’s so fine. I’m more of a worsted kind of girl but since I got such a deal on this yarn, how can I not be thrilled with it!
I watched a bunch of videos by ChemKnits and thought to myself that I was going to try a bunch of techniques. Extra, I know. So dip dye, ombre, speckled yarn was the goal. We used three packets of Kool-Aid: Sharkleberry Fin, Cherry and Grape.
You can check out the video on YouTube and see how Lil D and I partnered up to dye this yarn. I’m surprised he was able to maintain attention for so long. The result was lovely. Not quite as purple as I had hoped. I may have to get more yarn and grape Kool-aid to experiment further. Knitcrate may have created a monster. Here is a pic of the yarn drying and a pic of the final result. I am super fascinated in the way yarn soaks up the dye and the water clears.
This was a fun project for sure. I hope you watch the video and hear Lil D’s commentary. I tried to speed it up a tad since it’s over 20 minutes long and somehow I missed a clip somewhere talking about how long the yarn should stay in the pot and heat set. I had a bit of melty mess of plastic wrap. I may have deleted it. The kitchen did not smell as good as the yarn.
Do you have any favorite videos of yarn dyeing or have a story about dyeing yarn? What was your experience? I’d love to hear about it!
Until next time! craft on!
Craftmanic Mommy 