Kool Aid Tie Dye
June 25, 2008 by Marye Audet
Filed under Home & Living
Kool aide is a great dye. I have used it to die fiber from my sheep before I spun it, I have used it to dye the kids hair, and I have used it to dye fabric. It smells wonderful, you don’t have to worry about the kids getting some on their skin or in their mouths, and you don’t have to worry about VOCs out gassing for centuries. And it is serious fun.
The wool in the image is handspun Jacob’s sheep wool (using just the white) that has been hand dyed with cherry and orange Koolaid. I used a squirt bottle to apply the color in random sections. I knitted Kyrie a winter hat out of this and it was adorable.
So, how do you tie dye with koolaid?
Choose the packets of unsweetened drink mix. The sugar sweetened type will make a huge, sticky, mess. You will want a couple of flavor for best results. Wear the gloves or you will end up looking like a psychedelic alien from Dr. Who.
- T-shirt or fabric
- Unsweetened kool-aid
- Vinegar
- Small plastic bowls, one for each color you want to use
- Plastic gloves
- Rubber bands
1. For each color you that you use put a couple of packages of koolaid in one quart of boiling water and an ounce of vinegar in a plastic bowl. Add more packets for a deeper color.
2. Mix the liquid until the kool-aid is completely mixed in.
3. Pull ad twist sections of the t shirt through rubberbands. Make different sized, random bunches.
4. Dip the ends in the different bowls, without mixing colors. Allow to dry with the rubber bands in place
5. Remove the bands and spread the t shirt out.
5. Set the colors by ironing on a high heat. Use a press cloth.
6. Set aside for 24 hours for the dyes to set.
7. Wash separately the first time. Use cold water and a cold water rinse.
And that is all there is to it. You can do a great home-school study about mordants and dyes and how they are used…or you can just do it and have a great time with your kids.
Image:Marye Audet
I have a 3 and 5 year old. This sounded like fun. I tried it before I knew what I was doing and I just used HOt water and no vinigar, that did not work. I then went on line and found that you have to use viniger. The recipe that I followed was 1 ounce of viniger to 1 package of unsweetend Kool-aid. The shirts looked great when they were dyed. We let them dry outside on the line in the sun. The next night I iorned them with a hot iorn and the next day I washed then speratly in the sink with cold water, only again to see all of the color wash out. Is there something that I have done wrong? Please give me any tips that you think may help.
Thanks,
Bewildered Bethany
hey
just wondering how do you die your hair with the koolaid? and how long does it last? sounds funky and i want to try it =)
please email me back
thanks
I also tried the same thing that Bewildered Bethany did. One oz of Kool-aid and One oz of vinegar. I too had the same reaction. Is the difference the boiling water? I would also like to know what I could have done differently to keep the kids shirts colored.
It could be the boiling water, and it could be that you didn’t wash the sizing out of the shirts before you dyed them. Not sure.
Were they 100 percent cotton?
We tried the shirts again tonight. They have been washed before we died them this time (no fabric softener). They are 100% cotton t-shirts. We tried it with boiling water and vinegar this time. The colors are more vibrant than the first time. Now I just sit and wait 24 hrs until time to wash them. Either way if it washes out or not the kids loved making the mess to make their shirts!!
LOL! Good luck..it sounds like you did them right. Let me know.
Well I had the same thing happen, all of the color except for the red washed out, and even it faded to pink. The kids were disappointed. I’m not sure why it didn’t work this time….
I don;t know Julie..I don;t understand it.
sorry.
This DOES NOT work. Don’t waste your time or money
My kids at school are very disappointed bc their dye washed out too!