In Which I Dye Yarn

A couple of months ago, I found many bags of plain white wool yarn at the thrift store. There were bags and bags of it for 99 cents each, so I figured, "why not?" and stocked up on white yarn. I've used a bit of it here and there, but for the most part it's remained unused, untouched, in my craft cabinet. At the end of the day, I am a pragmatist with two free range kids who come home with some major stains. I've been working on my laundry skills, but I don't know if I'm ready for white wool.


I was thrilled to stumble upon this tutorial for dying wool with easter egg dyes A) because it is written for children, which means I am more likely to be able to follow it and B) because we just happen to have some leftover easter egg dyes in the kitchen. I was a little skeptical about dying yarn, because it sounds like something that is just a bit too far out there for me to actually try (along the lines of making my own vanilla extract or something), so I gave it a try all by myself this first time around.

And? I am happy to report that it was easy, not very messy, and quite gratifying. You mix a few simple ingredients, microwave them with the yarn, and then rinse and dry. The color even turned out just about how I had imagined it, and with some luck will be turned into some baby booties in the coming week. My next project: dying yarn with the kids in the kitchen. We'll see how that one goes (and they will not be wearing anything made from white wool while doing it, thank you very much).