KoolAid Dye, Fast or Fades?

A handful of people have asked me if Kool Aid dye is fast or fades.  I had wondered the same. 

Above are the socks that I made for the boys last summer(?) out of yarn that they dyed with me. Below is a picture of them before they were ever washed. They by no means have completely washed out, but they are a good bit more pastel-like than they were.  I regularly wash, and sometimes accidentally dry these ones in the washer and dryer, though.

The Kool-Aid dyed pair that I received in Sockapal-2-za, however, was KnitPicks Color Your Own sock weight yarn which has to be handwashed.  The color of these have not faded noticably at all.  I do tend to wear them less than the boys' socks, though, partly because I like them so much that I want them to last forever and partly because they need to be handwashed.

Kelly related something to me awhile back that she had learned once from a weaving teacher:  that detergents today are so good at what they do, and that they are so well formulated to remove stains, including things like grass stains (think natural dyes!) that they often remove the very dyes that we choose to use on our projects.  So, maybe that includes Kool-Aid dyes, even though they're about as far from natural as you can get, but at least not deadly toxic.

So, I suppose if the yarn that you're dyeing is going to be handwashed, and as long as you set the Kool-aid dye well, either by simmering if a solid color, or by steaming or microwaving if variegated, then you'll probably not be dissapointed.

In light of this, it still didn't stop me from recently picking up 80 packages of Kool Aid on sale at the local grocery store for $4.00!  Is that ridiculously obsessed or what?  Luckily the boys aren't old enough to be embarressed by things like that yet, but I certainly was, feeling the need to explain to people at the check out line what I was up to and that we weren't really going to drink all of it! 

Well, I hope this helps.

Comments

[Chris]

Thanks for the very clear examples!

[shannon]

80 packages? I bought 20 or so once when they were on sale and felt the same way. I had my son with me and was sure that the cashier was giving me funny looks for feeding my kid all that koolaid. Happy dyeing!

[fleur]

I just had some misfortunes with non-fastwashing ashford corriedale, glps. You can see the results on my blog, post of today (compare with the post of yesterday to understand the damage) -it's in french but pictures do talk!

[Robyn]

I have yet to try kool aid dyeing, but I appreciate the tip. And just on an extremely silly note, you have great ankles! I noticed from the picture of your red kool aid socks. After having two kids and major swelling from the first pregnancy, any hopes of my already big ankles went out the window!

[jess]

that is very useful.... I have yet to wash any of my kool-aid project... hardly worn them! But now I know....

[La]

That's good to know!

[Carrie]

Thanks!!

This post sounds just like an email I received one day ;-)

It's nice to see the comparison photos.

[Kara]

I bought a cart full of easter egg dye at 90% off last year. I not only got looks, but questions. I think I have a life time supply.

[elaine]

When I tie dyed some t-shirts this summer, I used a special detergent that is formulated to prevent running in the wash and the removal of the dye you just worked so hard to get into the garment. Perhaps this would work well for the koolaid technique? It's called Synthrapol SP, it's a textile detergent and I got it at Dharma Trading Co - http://www.dharmatrading.com/

[Chris R.]

Hey thanks for the info. I received some of the knit picks dye your own at our Christmas knitting party and hadn't even thought about anything more than what fun it's going to be to dye it. I am very impatiently waiting for spring to do that though.

[gail]

Your socks for the boys are great! I have tried dying with easter egg dye and it also turned out great. I use vinegar with it and that seems to set the dye. I purchased stacks of easter egg dye kits one easter and still have them in my basement!!

[Emy]

Wow...if I ever find koolaid in Singapore, that would be great! I just used food dyes and rinsed with vinegar as I heard that it'll set the dyes a bit.

[Heide]

I just tried kool aid dyeing for the first time. My daughters were very excited because they thought they were actually going to get to drink it... silly children. Imagine their dismay when I mixed it with vinegar and dipped my yarn into it! Anyway, the colors are vibrant, but because I choose mohair instead of a sensible sock or worsted yarn I have no idea what to make with the resulting bright fuzz. Thank you for the color washing information. Happy knitting, Heide