I did some dyeing last night.....

I needed some new colors for my wool applique but didn't feel like getting out my chemical dyes so I used the "Kool-aid" method and did some over-dyeing too.  These are the blues I got that I needed.

I put some water in my crockpot, set it to high and throw in some different wools and Kool-aid.  Last night I was looking for some blues so I put in some dark blue wool, a couple drops of liquid detergent that helps "wet" things and then 3 or 4 packages of blueberry Kool-aid .  Depending on the time in the crockpot and the original color of what you're dyeing, you get different results which is what is so cool!

I use tongs to pull out the HOT wool and let it drip into the upside down lid while I take it and drape it over my faucet so it can drip in the sink until it cools off.  Once it cools, I rinse it in a bowl of white vinegar to SET the color and keep it from bleeding and then I wring it dry and throw it in my dryer.

And this is what I do with the dyed wool after it's dry!  This part takes the longest but knowing that I used old wool that I get at thrift stores and then dye it the colors I need makes me feel like a true "re-purposer" and very GREEN!  If anyone has any wool clothes or old material they want to get rid of you can send it my way!  Wool is very expensive nowadays and actually hard to find since most materials today in clothing are synthetic.  It needs to be 100% wool in order to keep it from fraying.  You "felt" the wool by washing it and drying it  (without fabric softner) and it shrinks so it doesn't fray when you applique it.