Here's how I microwave dye with Kool Aid and Easter egg dye. It isn't scientific by any means and like I said, I rarely get the results I was going for. But it is quite fun - here are some handspun KA dyed skeins.







First of all, soak your yarn or fiber (protein fibers only) several hours or overnight in lots of water with a bit of mild dish soap. I was told the dish soap helps the fiber soak up water better.



To get one solid color, put the soaked fiber or yarn in a large microwave-safe casserole dish. Then dissolve Kool Aid (unsweetened kind only obviously) or Easter egg dye in a small amount of water (say 1/4 cup) in a small glass container (don't put any of this in plastic). For about 2 large skeins or 8 oz of fiber I use approximately 4 packets of Kool Aid or 4 little dots of Easter egg dye. I add several Tbsp of white vinegar to the dye and gently mix it with the soaked fiber or yarn. Then I add just enough water to cover. Cover the microwave-safe casserole dish and microwave for 20 minutes on HIGH. Check the fiber or yarn carefully - if the water is clear, it is done. If not, you may want to microwave it for a few more minutes. Let cool and rinse the fiber or yarn well.



There are several ways to do rainbow dyeing. You can carefully place the fiber or yarn tightly coiled in a hank in the casserole dish so it spirals. Then pour the dyes in rainbow order (i.e., yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, green) in stripes on the fiber or yarn. Do not pour the dyes so they touch each other - leave about an inch between each color. The colors will expand to meet each other in the microwave.



You can also do this on plastic wrap. Cover your work surface well with newspaper and then large quantities of plastic wrap. Place your wet yarn or fiber on the plastic wrap and add rainbow stripes. Carefully add a piece of plastic wrap to the top and roll the whole mess up. I put this in a casserole dish and zap for 20 minutes. You can also use a spoon in each color dye and lightly shake it over the fiber for spots of different colors using the plastic wrap method.



I generally only get reds and oranges and yellows with Kool Aid dyes. There was one flavor that gave you a bright light blue but it was hard to find. Grape Kool Aid gives me kind of an ugly brown-red. I can get a wider range of colors with Easter egg dyes but they are more pastel. I've never tried using Wilton cake decorating pastes but those are next on the agenda.



One last note - do this on a warm day so you can keep the windows open. Unless you like your whole house smelling strongly of wet wool, vinegar, and Kool Aid.