Dye Yarn With Easter Egg Dyes

The next time you are dyeing your Easter eggs, consider using the leftovers to dye a skein of yarn. This recipe works with any wool yarn that is made of protein.  The yarns I dyed have been  very permanent and Color fast. I did my first skein in 2006. No fading yet.  I can't say over the long term how much they could fade. Since I have seen no change in 5 years from these original yarns,  I am not too concerned about it.   It is loads of fun, and you will have yarn in those lovely Easter Colors we all love so much.

The first time I tried this it was on a whim. I thought what if I could dye with this? I did and I really got my money's worth out of my Easter Egg dyes.
I ended up having so much fun, I went out after Easter buying up all the sale packets of dye.  I dyed about 5 skeins with it using all the colors, and my microwave. The yarn came out so pretty and I used it in projects for kids. The colors were perfect for them and non toxic all the way. They were light baby colors when they came out. Later, when I went out and bought  more packets, I got stronger colors. I used a bit less water, and in some cases two tabs. 
Here is the way I did it.

After I was done using all those little cups of dye, I added about a 1/4 cup of vinegar to each one.  I used coffee cups by the way.  
I soaked my wool in warm water with a cup or vinegar for about 20 minutes and then took most of  the excess moisture out with a towel. This helps it to accept the dye better.
I draped the yarn into the different cups and arranged it on my microwave plate inside the microwave so I was using all the cups of dye at the same time.
I let it sit for a few minutes to let some of the dye run up into the white part between the cups.
I microwaved it for about 5 minutes.

The yarns above came out differently and I think it was the fiber because the strength was about the same. They were both very pretty when dry.

I took the yarn out, cooled it, and rinsed it gently in warm water with a bit of dish detergent added.

That's it. Nothing to it.
If you have some leftover wool yarn sitting around the house in white or a very light color try this.
You can use the skeins as I did, or you can put individual balls in the dye cups. If you use balls of yarn, they will be white in the middle and get darker as they go out to the edge.  Keep the balls small and wound loosely. 
You will feel so thrifty and have fun seeing the colors come out.

This was a later attempt with little water, and a pale pink yarn. It came out very nice.