Do you have a stash of white or pastel colored acrylic yarn hanging around? Acrylic yarn is basically made from plastic so it is really hard to color but I’ll show you how inexpensively using the tips in this video.
During the drying process you might want to move and readjust the yarn to keep the paint from pooling anywhere, you can also sop up some of the dripped paint if you want a deeper color. You can also use a hair dryer to speed up the drying process. Have fun with your new yarn and til next time happy crafting!
The Frugal Crafter Blog 
Cool!!! I love to crochet and found a infinity scarf pattern that would look pretty, got to try with some purple.
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Is there anything you don’t know about? LOL I don’t think I’ll be using this idea any time soon, but I definitely won’t be forgetting it. Thanks.
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This was a very interesting and informative video. Thank you very much.
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Thanks so much this is a great idea. I paint with acrylics all the time so have plenty of supplies of paint. Last year I wanted to knit a tiny bunny egg cosy but could only source 4ply yarn in white, pale pink/blue etc so this tip will be great to die my yarn for these type of projects.
TIP: We always used the back of a dining chair to wind a ball of wool from a skein when nobody would hold out their hands to facilitate this.
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Hi Lindsay, thanks for yet another brilliant tip. I’m guessing you wouldn’t be able to wash anything knitted from this wool, or is it permenant once dry?
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It is permanent and washable:)
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Wow! That’s amazing, thanks for your super fast reply, you’re a star! x
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love the yarn dyeing and never knew how to roll it without the yarn tangling… fabulous, many thanks xxx Jennine in Brisbane
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Thank you! I have been trying to find a way to dye Tule for TUTUs. I think this will work.
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Thank You so much for making this great video; I really enjoy watching and listening to you, very uplifting. I am on a fixed income on SS and have restrictions on how much can be spent. I’d love to find a large amount of yarn for that price! I’ve never heard of ‘Martins’; doubt there is one locally here. Do You have any suggestions?
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I’ve seen our local ACmoore offering pound bags of mill ends these days, that might be a good place for you to start. Consumer crafts has these too online but you can’t pick what you get so I think you need to get them in store. I was pleasently surprised when I went to wal mart and saw good quality cheap yarn, the Hoemtown USA is super bulky and I can make a hart with one ball and it is $3 vrs almost $5 for the exact ball of yarn at Acmoore so don’t forget to check there too. Often Salvation army, Goodwill or other thrift stores will have bags of yarn donated and they will be cheap, call around. I’ve gotten good deals at yard sales but I don’t like to go “yardsaling” but if you have friends who do have them keep an eye open for you. Mardens is a Maine only chain of stores and it is hit-or-miss so I stock up when I find a deal. There are a few websites that sell discontinued yarn, Smileys yarn has cheap yarn but a $50 minimum purchase, you have to keep checking to see if it is stuff you want though. Good luck my frugal friend!
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Hi! Thanks for such a great tutorial, my dream colourway is drying as we speak 🙂 I was wondering how colourfast this dying process is? If I were to make socks, how likely is it that the colour will transfer to my feet? I really like stripy socks, but I don’t want stripy feet 😛
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it won’t transfer. Acrylic paint goes through a chemical change as it dries and is not re-soluble again unlike dye:)
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Excellent stuff, thanks again 🙂
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I was so excited to try this when I saw your video, thank you for sharing the idea with us. The process works really well and I have been experimenting with different yarns and colourways. Love it!
See my last three blog posts for how I got on 🙂
http://dinkyflowerpots.blogspot.co.uk
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they turned out lovely!
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Thank you!!! x
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I love this video! I’m excited to try this technique. Here is my concern: I mainly knit for dolls. I am worried that some of the color would transfer to the dolls body. Many dyes do transfer to the plastic. Plastic shoes leaves color marks, stuff like that. What do you think? Is it safe for dolls?
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it should be fine as long as it is completely dry.
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Some have asked about dolls and skin, but what about other fabrics? I have a cardigan I just finished knitting with some old Romaxe sport and even though they were all the same dye lot, one of the balls looked more pink than the other 3 so I’ve got some lovely sectioned sleeves. It’s a cream color and I was thinking of making it gray or some other warm neutral but don’t want the color to transfer to the shirt I’m wearing under the cardigan.
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I should not transfer at all as long as you let it dry completely after dying. You can also wash it and dry it to be extra safe. Once it has dried the acrylic paint goes though a chemical change. I would knit a swatch of leftover yearn from that project and dry it first to see if you like it before dying the sweater though. I was going for a mottled look so it worked great for me, you might want a more solid dye so make sure the look is right before committing the entire garment.
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I was given a pretty crocheted cape made of peach acrylic yarn. I want to dye it black. Do you think your technique would work on an item that was already crocheted?
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the only problem will be getting a consistent color. It would be easier to go from peach to orange because if the dye skips in the tight weave area of the stitches it won’t be noticeable. Peach to black is a big jump.
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I enjoyed your video on dying yarn.it’s a very handy thing to know.I love any tips I can get.thank you so much
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do you have exact measurements on how much paint & water mixture?
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no, I just wing it:)
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Great video! I want to dye my yarn more than one color; like it drifts into other colors. Wold that work as well to use more than one color at a time? Or do you think it would blend too much?
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this will work, I recommend you lay the hank of yarn on a garbage bag outside and put the colors where you want and don’t scrunch it up, let it dry flat like that in the sun so the color can set.
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It worked! I dried mine for about a week. Two days in hot sun the rest in my basement. After that I soaked it in some fabric softener and water to soften it up. And then I washed and dried is normal. It did lighten considerably but compared to the ugly cream color that the yarn was to start with it’s a huge improvement. I did take a picture but I don’t see any place to post it here I’ll post it on my Pinterest with the link back to here. Thank you so much for this tutorial I had tried dying acrylic yarn with Kool-Aid and was unsuccessful this worked like a charm!
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This is an amazing video! Thank you so much for putting it up! ☺How will I know if there is too much water left in my hank? I tried it on some yarn I’m dyeing, but it looks like the paint is draining out of it.😦
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Mine was drippy too. It took 3 days to dry
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Thank you so much for this tutorial. I needed some purple fuzzy yarn but did not have any. The store did not have the right color either. I looked up using Kool-Aid to dye yarn, but it said the yarn would have to be wool or natural fiber. I was a bit discouraged until I came across your article. My yarn is now hanging and should be dry in a couple of days. Thank you so much!!! Really appreciate it. BTW, I used the closed caption of the video to make a print out. I like to have something to read and reference. I made a few corrections to it and will finish it up soon. I can give you a copy if you like.
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Hi! Great tutorial, thank you. Would this be recommended for a baby blanket? You had mentioned how the yarn becomes a little stiffer.
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I wouldn’t mainly because it can be a little scratchy and babies put everything in their mouth.
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That makes sense! Wow, you are quick to respond. Amazing, thank you!
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What happens when you put finished hat etc in washing machine? Will it get on other clothes?
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Hi!
Try tying a pony bead to one end, or both, so they’re easy to find.
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I know you probably weren’t expecting any new comments but I wanna share the COVID 19 fun ,you may have just saved my life! I need something to do and have about 6 skeins of mustard yellow yarn! If this works I will be so happy. Going to an aqua color first .may get a weird color but I’ll know what to try next. Thanks!!
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