Dying to Knit

What does a knitter do when she finds an incredible deal on 100% merino wool, but it’s not quite in the color she had wanted?  She dyes it!

I had wanted a navy blue yarn to knit my daughter a sweater with.  I started off with a very pretty pale blue yarn.  I dumped it in the sink along with some vinegar and let it soak for about a half hour or so. 

Then, I threw it in my largest pot and  started playing mad scientist.  I added all the blue food coloring that I had in the cupboard, decided that wasn’t enough so I added all the Wilton’s  frosting dye that I had.  I stir it up and looked at all the pretty blues.  Hmmm… it wasn’t quite the color I wanted… I needed  it darker, richer…. so I found a package of red Kool-aide in the cupboard and threw it in.  This concoction simmered on the stove while I knitted away on a sock.  I let it simmer (never boiling) until all the color was taken up and the water was clear. I let it cool overnight and then rinsed it out in cool water. 

I hung it over the sink to dry and checked it compulsively for dryness. 

Here’s the final version!  It’s not navy blue, but I think it’s even prettier than I had expected.  As one of my co-workers said, it looks like a peacock!