But I'm in the process of making a travel version of the organizer, so I pulled out the stuff to dye some elastic orange. Want to know how I did it?
First, gather your supplies:
1 - large pot half full of water
2 - packages of Kool-Aid (the more you use, the darker the color.)
3 - red food dye (to help boost the color)
4- vinegar (not pictured)
4- vinegar (not pictured)
5 - spoon you don't mind turning orange (or whichever color you are doing)
6 - elastic
Turn on the stove to high. Add the Kool-Aid to the water and stir it in. Add the food coloring. I used 5 drops. You can do more, but remember that the color with come out pastel-ish anyway. Last, add 1/4 cup vinegar per pack of Kool-Aid.
Allow the mixture to boil.
Wet the elastic in the sink so it's completely wet. (Don't ask me why, that's just what I read you are supposed to do with fabric, so I thought, "why not".) Add elastic to boiling pot. Let it boil for about 5 min.
Remove the pot from the burner and let it sit until it's cool. This time allows more color to soak in.
Once it's cool, I pulled it out with the spoon, let it drip a bit,
Then put it on a rag to dry.
Turn on the stove to high. Add the Kool-Aid to the water and stir it in. Add the food coloring. I used 5 drops. You can do more, but remember that the color with come out pastel-ish anyway. Last, add 1/4 cup vinegar per pack of Kool-Aid.
Allow the mixture to boil.
Wet the elastic in the sink so it's completely wet. (Don't ask me why, that's just what I read you are supposed to do with fabric, so I thought, "why not".) Add elastic to boiling pot. Let it boil for about 5 min.
Remove the pot from the burner and let it sit until it's cool. This time allows more color to soak in.
Once it's cool, I pulled it out with the spoon, let it drip a bit,
Then put it on a rag to dry.
Because what I'm using the elastic for won't be washed, I don't have to worry about permanence. If you are dying fabric you will want to make sure the dye is set, so there are some differences. Here are a couple links you may find helpful:
My whole house smells like orange drink. :o)
6 comments:
Oh, WOW! That's so cool!! I didn't know that elastic could be dyed that way. I linked to your tutorial over on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-kool-aid-dyed-elastic-for-your-sewing-projects/2010/08/13/
--Anne
Hi! Loved your idea to dye elastic! I'm going to try it soon!
I'm following you now! I hope you can visit/follow my blog! You may find useful ideas there too!
Have a nice day!
www.soteitei.blogspot.com
What do u do with colored elastic?
I'm working on a project now but it's similar to the Elastic Organizer I made.
http://craft-with-confidence.blogspot.com/2010/08/elastic-organizer.html
I've done that with yarn. Worked awesome.
I just saw this, so you may never see it...but.... Whenever you are dyeing a fabric (using RIT, Koolaid, whatever) you will get more even colors by wetting the items first. This insures they all absorb the color equally. Have you ever noticed when you put some fabric or a sponge under running water that some parts will 'resist' water for a second and after squeezing it it will take it in? Those spots that resisted the water might also resist the dye and the coverage would be sporadic. Just an FYI - that's why.
Awesome tutorial! I'll bet you get much deeper colors with Koolaid than other options. THANKS!
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