Comments on: DIY: Dyeing nylon!

By: Brenna

Brenna — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 16:05:25 +0000

@Bold Socks, most definitely!

By: Bold Socks

Bold Socks — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 18:19:11 +0000

Very cool post! Definitely an easy way to make your nylon’s unique!

By: Brenna

Brenna — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 15:13:35 +0000

@Stephanie, thanks for seconding the lightfastness of Kool-Aid (or, as the cool kids seem to call it, “KA”). And for sure the pot I use is just for non-food things, it even has a wobbly handle too.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 04:39:04 +0000

I used to dye yarn for a living, and have never had a problem with Koolaid fading in the sun. And I live in Texas!! I’m pretty sure the pic you saw was from poor dye technique, not the Koolaid itself. And I second the toxicity notion! Please please PLEASE use a pot you aren’t going to use again for food. Use that old one with the wiggly handle that you didn’t like anyway.

By: Brenna

Brenna — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 23:02:51 +0000

@Lorien, yes! I’d thought I’d noted that in the acid dye instructions, but it looks like I didn’t. I’ve added a note about that, thank you!

By: Brenna

Brenna — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 22:21:36 +0000

@Christy, that is a good point. Food colouring specifically does not have super great lightfastness. But because it is an acid-reactive dye (or acts like one) Kool-Aid dyed nylon does have decent lightfastness. A quick search online brings up a pretty thorough discussion on a knitting forum [Link] where most folks seem to agree that Kool-Aid is pretty solidly lightfast.

By: Christy

Christy — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 21:37:15 +0000

Just make sure you know that Kool-aid (and other food coloring) dyed things may not be very lightfast.

I can’t find it right now, but there was a photo someone posted on Ravelry of skeins they had that they were drying in the sun, and one side was paler than the other because the sun faded the yarn.

By: Lorien

Lorien — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:51:46 +0000

Be careful what you mix and heat dyes in. Aside from Kool-Aid, which is obviously food safe, most dyes are toxic, and you shouldn’t use pots or bowls that you will eat out of in the future! Pick up a cheap pot and mixing bowl at the thrift store for doing your dyeing.

By: Brenna

Brenna — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:47:45 +0000

@Cole, YAY for DIY! It can take boring white things and make them eye-popping. If you experiment with dyeing and like the results, be sure to share them on our Facebook. We love seeing folks personalise their socks!

By: cole

cole — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:25:33 +0000

oh dear lordie! the effect on the fleur de lis pantyhose is amazing.

i really appreciate this post for helping me reconsider items i might not have previously bought. yay for diy!