On 4/9, I mentioned that I followed this tutorial to dye some self-striping yarn. Here’s how it worked out:
First, I decided how I wanted the striping sequence to work out: 5 stripes green, 2 stripes undyed, 5 stripes pink, 2 stripes undyed–for a total of 14 rounds per sequence.
I cast on the required number of stitches for an appropriately sized sock for my feetsies (72 sts) and marked the yarn at the beginning of my first round (not the cast on row) & began working. I knit 14 rounds and marked the yarn at the end of the 14th round. The next step was to frog the work and measure the total length of yarn used. Once I had that measurement (420″) I had to divide 420 by 14 (the number of rounds per sequence) to get how many inches of yarn each round took (30″)… I took the number of rounds of each color and multiplied that by 30″ to determine how many inches total each color would use.
Green: 5 rounds x 30″ = 150″
Undyed: 2 rounds x 30″ = 60″
Pink: 5 rounds x 30″ = 150″
Undyed: 2 rounds x 30″ = 60″
I then placed two chairs 210″ apart from each other and wound the entire hank of Knit Picks Bare Merino Wool around and around and around and around and around… I placed some acrylic yarn ties at 150″, 60″, 150″, and 60″ increments. I used an alternate color acrylic to tie off in other places to help minimize the potential for tangles.
Now it was time to dye. I filled two stainless stock pots with enough water to cover the yarn (no measuring here), then put them on the stove top. At this point, I mixed the Kool Aid with warm water in smaller plastic tubs. 4 packets of Pink Lemonade and 4 packets of Lemon Lime. After the water on the stove was about boiling, I placed the Kool Aid into each pot and stirred. Then I added the yarn, placing the two undyed portions together into a pot in-between the cooking pots. I let the yarn cook until the water was clear, stirring gently occasionally.
Once the dyeing was complete, I waited for the yarn to be cool enough to touch, then rinsed in the sink. After that I hung the yarn to dry:
A couple of things I learned:
1) Add more Kool Aid than you think you’ll need!
2) Don’t tie the scrap yarn too tight within the colored sections or you’ll end up with white spots.
3) Duh… Soak the yarn before you dye it. Oops.
4) Kool Aid dyeing is fun! 🙂
I haven’t figured out the best way to wind the massive hank of yarn into a manageable size skein yet. I don’t own a niddy noddy and the hubby isn’t crafty, so a PVC version isn’t likely. I tend to place the yarn back over the chair backs and wind from that back over my arm (like you would a long extension cord)… it works, but it leaves me with a really small circle of yarn that won’t fit over the umbrella swift. I did make myself one of these and it worked well enough, but I’d really like to make a true skein of the yarn so I can see all the colors and how they work together in the skein. Maybe if I drop enough hints to the hubby, he’ll order a niddy noddy for me?! Anyone know what size I should hint at?? Also, anyone know how to tie a figure eight into a skein??
Anyway, this is becoming much longer than I anticipated… This is what I ended up with after all that:
Yarn: Knit Picks Bare 100% Merino Wool, 1 hank dyed with Kool Aid
Needles: 2.75mm (US 2)
Pattern: Basic Sock Pattern from the Handy Book of Patterns by Ann F Budd
Started April 9, Finished April 16. Fastest I’ve ever knit socks… I became a bit obsessed with curiosity about whether or not the stripes would work out the same on both socks. I know, I need a life. 😉
For humor’s sake, they are almost identical. Almost.
I’m in love with these socks. They’re just happy colors. YAY! Is it really sad that I own socks already dyed in almost the exact same colors?
Wow. I can’t believe how great those turned out!!! Awesome job with your dyeing! Wow!
I was all ready to try this until you started getting into the math, at which point I glazed over and began to drool.
Math is not fun. Knitting is. Math & knitting don’t mix.
HOWEVER I really love your socks and want some!
Wow! I’m impressed! That’s a great dye job! And two socks that match so well you (gasp! I can’t believe I’m saying this!) could have bought them in a store…. It’s almost sacreligious!
WOW!! Your socks turned out fantastic. Great match skills. 🙂
Nice job! Those turned out so cute!
Wow these turned out great!!! Love them!!!
The yarn/dyeing/socks turned out so pretty! Great job!!
OMG! Those kick arse! I am SO going to try that this summer. I’ve done kool-aid dying before, but my colors turned out NEON! I’m going to try this your way. Thanks for the tutorial!!
Sorry about Costa Rica. Something else will come up, I’m sure!
HOW cool is that? I tried a wee bit of KoolAid dying last year and absolutely loved it. I wasn’t as clever as you though, so no fancy stripes for me!
I just tried knitting with selfstriping yarn for the first time and I love the way it works. I do like the socks to work out identical though and I think my guesstimation was as good as yours as mine were also almost identical. 🙂
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I got the dyeing part down but would love to add the seeds too any suggestions?