Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Berry Blue + Grape = Teal?

Here is my yarn, happily boiling in Kool-Aid:


Looks tasty, doesn't it?

Here is is, rinsed, washed, and hung up to dry:

What you can't really see here is that I've actually produced a variegated yarn--the amount of yarn I had was really jammed into my 6-quart pot, so some parts of the yarn did not dye as thoroughly as others. I actually like this; I was a little worried the Kool-Aid would make for a rather flat color. My only concern is how it's going to knit up, since the variegation certainly does not follow any planned pattern. I hope I don't end up with large patches of light blue and large blotches of dark blue.

What you can tell from this photo is that the yarn has come out a blue that is almost teal. Not quite, but it definitely edges a little into green. Since I had blue and purple Kool-Aid, this puzzles me.

The answer, I think lies here:

The photo is blurry, but you can hopefully see in the center of that circle, the yarn I used to tie these skeins. That yarn was white 100% wool, and it's now purple. So that 34% silk in my main yarn is having a pretty significant effect. Happily, not only did it make the color turn teal, it also made it a strong and glossy color. It's not what expected, but I really, really, like it.

I hope it stays this nice as it dries!

1 comment:

The Beast Mom said...

There are hidden wonders in Kool-Aid. That's all I can say in answer to the teal result. :) I like the teal. My kitchen has toothpaste blue walls and paintings with quite a bit of teal. I have teal cereal bowls too. Teal is a good color IMHO.

-bm