Dyeing With Kool-Aid

[George R]

I recently ordered a supply of angora wool (to tie the Bob Towbridge Bayfield Leech), the supplier suggested using "kool-aid" to achieve the desired colors I wanted. I went to my trusty search engine and found several references for using kool-aid. It is limited to coloring "protein fibers", hair, feathers, wool, and I guess egg shells (like in Easter). Unsweetened kool-aid was four packs for a dollar at the grocery store. If you have purchased RIT dye, you know it is more expensive. Anyhow, before I read the web page, I tried some orange kool-aid on white wooly bugger hackle. boiled it on the stove a few minutes, and the results were quite encouraging (bright orange hackle).
If any of you have experience with this method, please post your secrets and save me a lot of trial and error. See [url] thepiper.com/fiberart/koolaid/basic-howto.html
PS: my wife has already called it a "kool idea".

[Caddfly]

Bright blue swiss straw is my fav for damselflies. Unfortunately, I can't find it anywhere. I've tried dying white straw, but to no avail. I think I need to try some hackles...

[«°Ñøvã°»]

I used to do tye dying back in the day and we used some industrial powdered dyes for the shirts that we did. We used the MX reactive powdered dyes with an activator. Here is the website they have a variety of colors. You can also mix the powder dyes to create a desired color.

http://www.prochemical.com/
http://www.prochemical.com/catalog/mx.htm

[Mike A]

I have done some dying with Kool-Aid and it works very nicely. Mostly I have dyed sections of bucktail in brighter colors for use on streamers (red, orange, purple, pink, light green) and they have all worked great. I have also dyed mono to wrap nymph bodies using Kool-Aid. I usually add enough water to cover the materials I want to dye, a package of Kool-Aid, and an ounce of vinegar. Heat it to close to boiling and it works very quickly.

I'm not very good at trying to match insect colors by mixing dyes (or flavors in this case) since I'm colorblind, but I have heard of other doing it successfully. I've no idea how to get a nice olive or brown from Kool-Aid.

Also, for bright yellow and for blacks I end up using Rit dyes with some vinegar added. Lemonade isn't too bright and I can't see black Kool-Aid as selling very well.

[grouser]

The dyed material would work great on a hot July day with the sun overhead, 100 degrees plus.

[Jason]

Here's an article I found a few years back. It has a little bit about dieing materials for your information. It also has some other useful tid bits that might be worth reading about.

http://www.uky.edu/%7Eagrdanny/flyfish/petti.htm

[Mike A]

The dyed material would work great on a hot July day with the sun overhead, 100 degrees plus.

That reminds me. Dying with Kool-Aid does smell much nicer than dying with regular dyes. Even with the vinegar included, the smell of the Kool-Aid overpowers it. My wife doesn't mind my carefullly dying materials in the kitchen with Kool-Aid as much because it just smells so much nicer.