Dyeing Wool With Kool Aid – A Tutorial

I mentioned on my Facebook page a couple of weeks ago that I was dyeing a pair of wool interlock longies. I had purchased them new but they faded with use and I wanted to brighten them up. Plus, I was dying to try dyeing (ha!) with Kool Aid. An overwhelming number of you requested a tutorial, so here it is! With crappy cell phone pictures, even!

From what I gather, Kool Aid is an acid dye that works best on animal fibers (such as wool). I haven’t tried it on anything else so I can’t make any promises as to whether or not it would work on anything else. Also, I used vinegar during this process but it may be unnecessary. I just figured that it couldn’t hurt!

You will need:

Blue Dawn (another dish soap may work, this is for stripping the lanolin off of your wool)

Kool Aid (I used 6 packs for a medium pair of longies and it was plenty)

1 c. White Distilled Vinegar

A Pot

Gloves

Something to Stir With

1. Using the Blue Dawn, wash your wool a few times (twice was enough for me). Make sure to rub in the seams. If there is still lanolin on the wool, the dye will not take.

2. Add your Kool Aid (I used 4 packets of Orange and 2 of Piña-Pineapple) to your pot and fill it about halfway or enough to completely cover your wool.

Kool Aid formulas for 135 colors

More Kool Aid color swatches

3. Add vinegar and then set your pot on the stove (do not turn on the stove).

4. Wring water out of your wool and submerge in Kool Aid mixture. Turn the stove to low. Before the water gets too hot, don your gloves and massage the seams of the wool to help the color take. It is harder for the dye to take there.

You will want to gradually increase the heat until the water is almost boiling.

Stir your wool every few minutes until all of the color leaves the water. See the following progression:

5. Turn off the heat and let the wool return to room temperature.

6. Squeeze excess water out of wool.

Then wash and lanolize as usual and your wool is ready to use!