One of my favorite things to do in the evening is sit with a colorful cake of yarn and knit or crochet something. Buying yarn at the big-box craft store is cheap, but they have a limited range of colors and fibers. Someone suggested I try an online marketplace where "indie" dyers ply their wares.
Oh, the colors! Each colorful hank of yarn was more vivid and beautiful than the next. However, each price tag gave me major sticker shock. Why should I spend $30 on 100 grams of hand-dyed yarn when I could just buy a $2 ball of cotton at the big-box craft store and do it myself?
I sat down and watched half a dozen YouTube videos on how to get started dyeing yarn. I realized I already had most of the supplies at home. We had leftover food coloring and vinegar, both of which would work just fine on cotton.
On the next nice day, I set out all the supplies and got started. I decided that I wanted a speckled or tie-dyed effect, so I put rubber bands around the yarn. I followed the directions from the crafty website I found.
Within minutes, food coloring was everywhere. It got onto the chindi rug I bought from the "aisle of shame" at the grocery market the week before. It got onto my dish towels, tee shirt and shorts. Before I knew it, it was dripping onto the white cooktop of my oven, the Corian countertop and my luxury vinyl plank flooring.
When all was said and done, my quest to save $28 by dyeing my own yarn resulted in having to purchase more than $50 in cleaning supplies for the countertops and cooktop and about six hours of scrubbing. I also had to pay for professional cleaning service to come in and clean my floor at a cost of more than $200. My secondhand clothes were a lost cause and thrown out.
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