April 22, 2009

Rainbow of Colors



How did I do this? :-)
Well, with kool-aid and food color!

Kool aid is specified by flavor. All flavors Kool aid brand unless marked WM for walmart store brand. Numbered samples are Kool-aid. Letters are food coloring.

Each sample of yarn weighs approx. 2 grams. I used 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 cup of water for the Kool aid samples. I used about 3 tablespoons of vinegar (since there isn't any acid in the food color like there is in Kool aid) and 1 cup of water for the food coloring samles. Everything was cooked in mason jars and on the stove top.

Because I used 2 grams every time, I am think you could just add more for a larger amount of yarn. I have not yet tried this, but will be doing so this afternoon!

Abbreviations: WM = Walmart Brand of Kool-aid, teas. = teaspoon


Yellows
A: 5 drops Yellow
17: 3/4 teas. Lemon-aid WM
E: 1 drop Yellow
9: 1/2 teas. Lemon-aid WM




Greens
L: 5 drops Yellow, 1 Green
10: 1/4 teas. Lemon-lime
F: 1 drop Green, 1 Yellow
K: 2 drops Green, 1 Blue
B: 6 drops Green
18: 1 1/2 teas. Lemon-aid WM + 1/2 teas. Lemon-lime
11: 1/2 teas. Lemon-lime
O: 14 drops Green, 6 Yellow




Blues
13: 1/4 teas. Berry Blue
19: 1/4 teas. Berry Blue + dash Orange
N: 6 drops Blue, 1 Yellow
14: 1/2 Berry Blue + 1/8 Grape
J: 1 drop Blue
T: 2 drops Blue
C: 5 drops Blue
15: 1/4 teas. Berry Blue + 1/2 teas. Pink Lemon-aid




Purples
G: 1 drop Blue, 1 Red
R: 3 drops Red, 2 Blue
S: 3 drops Red, 5 Blue
P: 5 drops Red, 15 Blue
2: 1/2 teas. Grape
1: 1/4 teas. Grape




Pinks
23: 1/2 teas. Pink Lemon-aid + sprinkle Grape
20: 1 pkg Pink Lemon-aid + dash Berry Blue
I: 1 drop Red
22: Sprinkle Strawberry
8: 1/4 teas. Pink Lemon-aid




Oranges
21: 1/4 teas. Orange + 1/2 teas. Lemon-aid WM
H: 2 drops Red, 1 Yellow
3: 1/4 teas. Orange
4: 1/2 teas. Orange




Reds
6: 1/4 teas. Strawberry
7: 1/4 teas. Cherry WM
Q: 10 drops of Red, 3 Yellow
5: 1/4 teas. Black Cherry




Browns
Example of the original color
M: 3 drops Yellow, 4 Red, 2 Green
D: 8 drops Red, 3 Blue, 2 Green, 4 Yellow
12: 3/4 teas. Lemon-lime + 1/4 teas. Strawberry
16: 1/2 teas. Pink Lemon-aid + 1/4 teas. Lemon-lime + dash of Cherry WM




This is an example of what you get when you add more food color to the same amount of yarn... darker!

Left: 1 drop
Middle: 2 drops
Right: 5 drops




Another example. The grape Kool aid is very intense.

Left: 1/4 teaspoon
Right: 1/2 teasoon




Orange Kool aid

Left: 1/4 teaspoon
Right: 1/2 teaspoon



I guess I am going to be experimenting further with a combination of kool-aid and food color. I have also seen pastel food colors at the super market, so you can be sure I will be playing with those as well! :-D

3 comments:

  1. Wow! Those are some nice colors...I especially like the blues. How do the colors hold up over time and a few washings?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pretty well actually. I haven't had a problem with the colors running at all. If you go down to my Easter basket post:
    http://cloth-crazy.blogspot.com/2009/04/got-little-sidetracked.html
    you can have a look at yarn that has been felted, and I mean washed on HOT with detergent... nothing ran at all!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amanda, WOW! Thank you for sharing such a detailed tutorial. Ive been knitting like a fool for the past 4-5 years and have this on my "to do" list. I have found a resource for blanks so maybe after my sons wedding is past I can use this as a stress reliever. ;) playing with yarn always helps.

    ReplyDelete