Dyeing with Kool Aid

I love to try new dyeing techniques.

I've known about this one for several years,

 but have never tried it out till just recently.

Here are the directions below:

Instead of using mohair I used handspun wool (blue faced leicester).

I bundled the small skeins with rubber bands to get a few resist areas, 

and followed the directions somewhat . 

LOL

I used cool water instead of warm water to pour down the side of the jar

(I was too lazy to get out the portable stove to heat my water)

At first I was worried because the Kool Aid looked black...

but after a few minutes things started to change.

I began to see some color ,

and some color separation.

I was also too lazy to steam the jar,

so I put it out into the direct sunlight for a couple of weeks outside my classroom door.

And each day I would look at it and see it changing before my eyes.

So cool!

Yesterday when I was picking it up to check it I noticed that the water had turned clear

 so I knew it was done.

These are the results.

Lovely soft blues into blue-violets,

violets into red violets.

I think I'd like to try this again with with perhaps some silk/wool blends.

What was really interesting was what happened to the rubber bands that bound the wool.

They expanded, changed color, and became very textural.

Scary what a bit of sugar and water will do.