Kool Aid, a North American powdered drink mix, is commonly used to dye many protein fibers such as wool, alpaca, mohair and silk and is even a great permanent hair color. But what colors do the often enigmatically-named drink flavors actually make? This is the question I sought to answer. So my daughter and I, armed with nothing but graham crackers, jingly toys and determination, set out to scour the area for the widest variety of Kool Aid flavors we could find. And came home victorious with eighteen packets, a package of sturdy plastic cups and some rubber gloves. See our results here. If you'd like to know how to do this, there are many wonderful tutorials available online.
acrylic/wool blend - 5 packets per oz of yarn 100% wool -
5 packets per oz of yarn		 100% wool -
3 packets per oz of yarn
Black Cherry
(dark maroon - same as Jamaica)
Jamaica
(dark maroon - same as Black Cherry)
Strawberry
(bright red, same as Tropical Punch, Cherry & Berry Cherry
Tropical Punch
(see notes for Strawberry)
Blastin' Berry Cherry
(see notes for Strawberry)
Cherry
(see notes for Strawberry)
Soarin' Strawberry Lemonade
(dark salmon)
Watermelon Cherry
(dark salmon - one shade lighter than above)
Slammin' Strawberry Kiwi
(medium salmon)
Pink Lemonade
(medium salmon - one shade lighter than above)
Grape
(muddy, plummy purple)
Berry Blue
(bright turquoise)
Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade
(robin's egg blue)
Changin' Cherry
(blue-green)
Lemon Lime
(bright lime green)
Lemonade
(yellow)
Pina Pineapple
(gold)
Mango
(saturated marigold yellow)
Orange
(intense orange)
Mandarina-Tangerine
(intense orange)
Tamarindo
(brown)
All with 100% wool, recipes described for each.

To make the odd fractions, mix each packet with one cup water & measure the fraction of a cup. This way, 3/4 packet is 3/4 cup.

 To make the odd fractions, I mixed 1/2 of a teaspoon of Violet dye in 2 cups of water. Then I used a measurement of this solution for each of the samples below. And don't forget the vinegar.
Inky purple (mix 19)
1 1/2 packets each of grape and berry blue per oz of yarn
Very dark violet
1/4 teaspoon per oz of yarn
Dark plum (mix 20)
3/4 packet of strawberry and
2 1/4 packets of berry blue
per oz of yarn
Dark violet
1/8 teaspoon per oz of yarn
Medium plum (mix 22)
1 1/2 packets of grape
per oz of yarn
Medium violet
1/16 teaspoon per oz of yarn
Medium purple (mix 23)
1 1/2 packets of grape and 3/8 packet of berry blue
per oz of yarn
Medium plummy purple
1/32 teaspoon per oz of yarn
Inky blue (mix 24)
1 1/2 packets of berry blue and 3/4 packet of grape
per oz of yarn
Light plummy purple
1/64 teaspoon per oz of yarn
Medium blue (mix 25)
1 1/2 packets of berry blue and 3/8 packet of grape
per oz of yarn
Blue (mix 26)
1 1/2 packets of berry blue and 3/16 packet of grape
per oz of yarn
Light teal (mix 27)
2 1/4 packets of berry blue and 3/4 packet of lemon lime
per oz of yarn
Medium teal (mix 31)
2 5/8 packets of berry blue and 3/8 packet of lemon lime
per oz of yarn
Dark teal (mix 32)
5 1/4 packets of berry blue and 3/4 packet of lemon lime
per oz of yarn
Grass green (mix 21)
1 1/2 packets each of lemon lime and berry blue per oz of yarn
Self-striping yarn made with 100 grams of 100% merino wool and formulas for Light Teal, Medium Violet (which came out plummier than expected and a more solid color than the photo shows), and Medium Blue. The variations in the colors are gorgeous.
* Wear rubber gloves. Purple fingers with blue fingernails may be appropriate for Halloween or something, but not necessarily for the office.

* Tie your ties very loosely or you'll end up with tiny white stripes where your ties are. Just tie them enough to keep the hank roughly in place.

* Soak the bare yarn for a long time before dyeing if you want a more consistent color. The dye won't reach the drier areas. If you want a slightly variegated look, soak for a shorter time.

* Even if you're just winging it, write down exactly what you do. If you love the result, you'll want to recreate it. If you hate the results, you'll know what NOT to do.

* When you add the yarn to the dye, mix it around and squish it with your hands or the dye won't penetrate to the middle strands.

* Stir the yarn occasionally and carefully to even out the colors.

* Wait until the dye bath is perfectly clear (or cloudy in some cases - just no color left) or you may leave behind an important color. For example, with the Wilton purple, the red in the dye strikes first, so if you don't wait, you'll end up with plum and most of the blue left behind in the water.

* If you want predictable colors and even coloration, you might want to skip the Kool Aid and go with commercial dyes. But if you enjoy the mystery and unpredictability of food dyes, this is very fun and the colors are really intense and beautiful. And your kitchen and yarn smell delicious.