Crockpot Dyed Wool Instructions & Photos

Dyeing wool in a crockpot is one of my favorite dyeing activities. It is super kid-friendly, since they don't get too close to the heat. Since you want to use your crockpot again for food later, it doesn't use harsh chemicals. It uses materials you are likely to already have in your kitchen (like a crockpot, a knife, and a cutting board). It takes hardly any time to set up. And it is fun!

Click on any photo to enlarge it.  I hope my description makes you feel confident to try this.  Let me know the results of your own experimenting!

Materials:

one crockpot per color

clean white wool

water

white vinegar

dyestuff

cutting board & knife

piece of clean cotton fabric (optional)

we started by carding our clean washed wool

then we made the labels for our crockpots

I wrote the words and the children added pictures

pencil grip before my correction

pencil grip after my correction

we chose to dye our wool with

Turmeric Root

Dandelion Blossoms

and Frozen Blueberries

put in a generous amount of the white wool into your crockpot

and put your dyestuff right on top of it

then add water until the crockpot is nearly full

and add a generous glug of white vinegar

making the labels was very fun!

so that we wouldn't get Blueberry skins in our wool,

I wrapped our berries in a piece of clean cotton cloth

I tied the bundle up very tight

I wish, in retrospect, that I had done this with the

Dandelion Blossoms as well, since they disintegrated

plug the crockpots in

turn them to Low for 10 or 12 hours

and then turn them off and leave them to cool overnight

you can also use powdered turmeric from your spice cabinet

but definitely wrap it in cloth to make a bundle or your

wool will be very gritty; the root was easier to deal with 

the results of a previous crockpot dyeing experiment

with Beetroot

Dandelion Blossoms

made an earthy green-brown

the Dandelion water was clear

Turmeric Root made a strong sunny golden yellow

the Turmeric water was also clear

Frozen Blueberries

made a deep rich purple

the Blueberry water was a surprising cherry red color

and we saw that the Blueberries dyed the cotton cloth purple as well

the berries have clearly lost some of their color to the wool

Success!!!