1. first i had to unwind my yarn from the machine-wound skein. i used my tv cabinet door. then used some cotton yarn to loosely tie the yarn in intervals to keep it from tangling while dying.

2. per the instructions from everyone, soak the yarn in warm water until well saturated. it took me about 20 minutes, gently pressing down occasionally to get it all soaked.

3. while the yarn was soaking, i mixed up my kool-ade. one packet per cup with luke warm water.

4. using a turkey baster, i started squirting the kool-ade onto the yarn randomly.

5. then into the microwave. i started with 3 or 4 minutes and continued with 2 minutes, checking to see if the water was clear. the yarn soaks up all the color, so the water really does miraculously go clear!

as you can see, all the various colors blended together. disappointing, but i didn't really follow the directions exactly. (for a variety of colors, you're suppoed to lay the yarn on saran wrap and apply the color over that. seemed too messy so i tried this way instead.)

6. yarn hanging over my sink to drip. even though it was a mistake, i liked the way the colors blended - making a subtle varigated reddish-orange yarn.

7. this time i kept the colors separate. grape and black cherry. the center draping over the two dishes is the natural wool. i repeated the same soaking and microwave process as before.

8. hanging in the sink. the grape kind of looses its intensity after taking it out of the water.

9. i hung both over my shower rod overnight to dry. it took a long time.

10. the color samples i made with the leftover kool-ade. cherry, orange, lemon-lime, grape, lemonade, and black cherry.

my favorites are lemon-lime and black cherry.

:: questions, comments, suggestions ::