Saturday, June 18, 2005

Bonnets, Butterflies and KoolAid

Has anyone noticed how fast time flies? I am just amazed! Just over a year ago, my family and I were in New Hampshire and I had crocheted this little bonnet "on the fly" for my new niece. Isn't she just adorable? Now she's over a year old!! Where does the time go?

If you'd like to crochet a bonnet like this one for a newborn, crochet a rectangle about the height and width of your (adult) fist. Then crochet as many rows on three of the rectangles' sides. Add a pretty shell border for the front, and ties to hold it on. You can read about what inspired this bonnet by clicking here.

I've been busy today crocheting up the fiber I dyed with KoolAid on Thursday.  Actually, I finished the project and am now on the hunt for the "perfect" button for it prior to taking a picture to post.  (I need a butterfly shaped button.)

Many have asked if I could provide more details about my dyeing experience, so I thought I'd answer a few questions I received:

1.  Will you be comparing it to dyeing w/o the microwave?
    No.  Not at this time.  I decided upon the microwave option since the store where I'm offering this class has one. 

2.  I wonder why yours came out so light compared to Karmah's?
    Apparently, I used a fiber that normally does not take to dye -- specifically the KoolAid dyeing technique.  The fiber I used did not use "truth in advertising" on it's label ... meaning, IMHO, it shouldn't have had "COTTON" in huge lettering on the front of the label unless it was 100% cotton.  (Kinda like buying "juice" only to find out that it's water, sugar and flavoring with no natural juice.)  The fiber I used turned out to be a cotton/acrylic blend.  I should have used natural fibers like silk or wool for more vivid coloring rather than a "staining."

3. how colorfast is the result with cotton?
    I microwaved the daylights out of this project, as the instructions stated.  I did so until the dye mixture appeared "clear."  Maybe this is why some of the coloring took.  At this point, since it's already crocheted into a child's handbag, I dare not to wash it further and find out!  I'll be busy hunting for that butterfly button and writing up the pattern.

I do plan on experimenting a bit more with the KoolAid dyeing technique, but not right now.  I'm on vacation this week, so I'll be doing a bit of goofing off with my family and catching up on crochet projects that have specific deadlines I need to meet.  :)


Other blogs/journals with KoolAid dyeing experiences:

  • Knit Tidbits
  • pugknits and more pugknits
  • wavybend
  • Linz Knits
  • deBRATs knitting
  • Shoes and yarn
  • modern gypsy
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