Space dyeing yarn in the microwave is a fun an easy project that is safe for children and pets, and can be done in your kitchen with no fear of contaminating your kitchen equipment with harmful chemicals. Children should be supervised when dyeing.

Equipment and Supplies Needed:
Wool yarn – 6 to 8 oz. dry weight
Water
Dawn Dishwashing Liquid
Kool-Ade Unsweetened Drink Mix – 2 packages of each “flavor” you wish to use.
White vinegar
A large plastic pail or bucket
1 to 3 small plastic tubs, such as margarine containers
1 to 3 udder injection needles
1 to 3 plastic syringes – 12 cc. I recommend Luer Lock syringes.
A large microwave safe pan
A wire rack that fits in your sink
A ball winder
A swift
Some old newspaper to protect your work surface
A towel
A microwave oven

Note: Udder injection needles are used for treating mastitis in cattle. They are large, blunt tipped, stainless steel needles that have holes in the shaft of the needle, not in the tip. They are available at farmer’s co-ops or through veterinarians and come in packs of three. These are reusable and one pack will last forever.

Preparing the yarn for dyeing:
Step 1: Wind the yarn into balls. The balls need to be very loosely wound for best results so rewind the balls 3 times with the last 2 windings done under no tension. The balls will look loose and sloppy.

Step 2: Fill the large bucket or pail with warm water and add just 2 or 3 drops of Dawn Dishwashing Liquid. Stir gently to mix the Dawn into the water but try to avoid raising soapsuds. Add the balls of yarn to the water and let it sit overnight so the yarn has a chance to become totally saturated. I place a plate on top of the balls of yarn to make sure that they stay totally submerged.

Dyeing the yarn:
Step 1: Remove the yarn from the bucket of water and place the balls on the rack in your sink. This allows excess water to drain out. Leave the balls on the rack in the sink. The directions that follow are for using 3 colors, but it’s perfectly all right to use more or less. Note that the colors will blend as they are injected into the yarn so your yarn finished yarns will have more shades of color than the number of colors of dye you inject.
Step 2: Prepare the dyes. Empty 2 packages of the same flavor of Kool-Ade into each of the 3 small plastic containers. Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar and a half of a cup of water to each container and mix well. Attach an udder injection needle to each syringe and draw a syringe of each color.


Step 3: With the yarn on the rack in the sink, inject the dye into the ball of yarn by poking the needle way down to the bottom and then slowly depressing the plunger while pulling the needle up and out of the ball. Inject slowly, you can go back and add more dye later but once it’s injected it can’t be removed. You will notice that some of the dye will run out of the ball and down the drain – this is perfectly ok, it keeps the colors at the bottom of the ball from becoming muddled. Move 1/3rd of the way around the ball and inject more of color #1, then move another 1/3rd and do another injection of color #1. You will need to refill the syringe as you work. Whether to inject random amounts or measured amounts at each point is your decision. Then do the same with colors #2 and #3. Some white areas will remain – this is to be expected and adds to the appearance of your final yarn.

Step 4: Cooking the yarn: Remove the balls from the rack and place them in a microwave safe pan. Cook for 2 minutes on high, then turn the balls over and cook for another 2 minutes on high. After cooking, place the ball in a bucket of cold water to cool it down. Use caution when handling cooked yarn – it gets quite hot and can cause burns.
I recommend using a tongs or wearing rubber gloves.

Step 5: Once the yarn has cooled, squeeze out the excess water, wrap the yarn in a towel and apply pressure. The goal is to extract as much water as possible while still maintaining the integrity of the ball. Now wind the ball into a skein and rinse it in warm water with a bit of white vinegar added. Repeat the rinsing until the water runs clear. Hang your skein to dry.

Step 6: Sit back and admire your lovely dyed skein of yarn.

Keeping good notes as you dye will allow you to go back and repeat the same colorway on other balls of yarn.