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Tie Dye with Kool-Aid

Do not try to dye cotton with food coloring!

Food coloring on cotton is a stain, not a dye, and will not last. You can't make it permanent. If you want to dye cotton, use fiber reactive dye with the how to dye cotton recipe, and don't let your kids eat the dye.

Artificially colored drink mixes can be used for dyeing wool and other protein (animal) fibers, and frequently also nylon. (Some nylon garments are treated with Teflon or other coatings, which prevent dyeing.) They do not attach permanently on cotton or synthetics other than nylon, unless you never, ever wash the item in question.

The answer, then, is to use wool, silk, or nylon. You must also apply heat.

Acid Dyes

No sugar, please!

What colors are available?

All other food colorings in the US, aside from a few natural dyes such as annatto, turmeric (spice), beet extract, and carmine (red insects, used to color yogurt and other foods), are composed of different combinations of the above.

Project

1. What to dye.
   First you need to select an appropriate dyeable - wool yarn, nylon fabric, silk scarf. You can buy silk scarves for two to eight dollars each, depending on size, by mail order from companies such as Rupert Gibbon & Spider and Dharma Trading Company; see Sources for Dyeing Supplies, or see MisterArt's Jacquard white silk scarf.) Do not choose anything containing a cellulose fiber such as cotton, rayon, or linen, nor any synthetics other than nylon, such as polyester or acetate.
2. Choose your dyes. Select your favorite colors of unsweetened artificially colored drink mix. Plan on about one packet of drink mix per ounce of fiber, if you like intense colors. (Blue drink mixes are becoming difficult to find in some areas, but can still be purchased online; see, for example, Twist Blue Mountain Berry Kool-Aid at Amazon.)
3. Pre-soak your fiber. If you are using a drink mix that contains an acid, such as citric or malic acid, for tartness, dampen your fabric or yarn with water, or you can use water with some added vinegar, just to be sure. If you are using pure food coloring or egg dye, dampen with plain white vinegar, instead, mixed half-and-half with water. Squeeze out excess water and vinegar, leaving your fiber wet.
4. Tie. (Optional.) For a true tie-dye project, you may use rubber bands to tighten the fabric where you want it to remain white. Many people prefer dyeing with no ties at all, however. Since you are applying your colors directly, you can get quite nice designs with no need for the ties.
5. Select a dish. Here's where this form of dyeing becomes especially convenient. There is no need to devote a dish solely to dye use, since these dyes are food-safe; you can use any kitchen container that is suitable for microwaving. Choose one as wide as will fit in your microwave oven conveniently. Arrange your damp material in the dish.
6. Add dye. Sprinkle on your drink mix or food coloring in a pleasing rainbow pattern. You can use the drink mix either dry (it will dissolve on the wet fabric) or dissolved in a very small amount of water. Remember that you don't want to put opposite colors next to each other, such as red next to green, orange next to blue, or yellow next to purple, as you will end up with a muddy brown if you do. Place colors in rainbow order. After covering the top layer, use gloved hands, or tongs or other kitchen implements, to turn the fabric or yarn over in the dish, to do the same to the other side(s).
7. Cover the dish. Use a lid, plate or microwavable plastic wrap to seal the dish tightly. This will trap steam to ensure that all parts of the fabric get treated, and prevent one region from drying out and burning before the rest is even hot.
8. Heat in the microwave. (Obviously, this part is to be done only by adults or teens, though young children can do the dye application.) Watching closely the entire time, heat for anywhere from fifteen seconds to a minute or two, until the material is hot. You will see the steam start to inflate the plastic wrap, and condense inside the plastic wrap; that is when you must press "STOP". Let it rest for a minute, then heat again. Alternatively, heat for five minutes on reduced power (20%), but be sure to watch constantly . The danger is that overheated fiber can actually catch on fire in the microwave, if it is allowed to get too dry. It must get quite hot in order for the dye to attach permanently to the fiber, however. If you do not have access to a microwave oven, you can use a vegetable steamer and steam for half an hour, instead.
9. Allow to cool. The time spent gradually cooling will allow more bonding to occur.
10. Rinse. Using cool water, rinse until the water that runs off no longer contains dye.
11. Laundering. When laundering becomes necessary, wash in cool water on the delicate cycle, or hand wash; be sure to follow any care instructions for wool.

Safety warnings

First, never breathe the drink mix powder. Breathing dye is unhealthy; breathing almost any powder is unhealthy.

Second, don't let your children learn, from this food-safe experiment, that it is okay to taste your dyes! You may think that this is silly, but my young son developed the appalling idea, from our early chemistry experiments together, such as growing crystals from salt and sugar, that it was okay to taste chemicals. Fortunately I was watching closely the time he decided to taste a non-food-safe experiment!

See answers to more questions about dyes and dyeing

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Page created: August 11, 2002
Last updated: May 17, 2003
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