Squeeeness! Yarn!

If you'd like to dye either your roving or your finished yarn, KoolAid is a GREAT way to go--little mess, no one yelling at you about chemicals, smells kinda good, and gives good, fast color.

My method:

You need
--a microwave
--a glass jar that will fit your roving
--water
--KoolAid, NO SUGAR ADDED. Just the plain packets. If you put sugar in it, you'll get an UNHOLY MESS. (Yes, I've had people do it, so don't think I'm being silly. Or sillier than usual.) If you want a blue or yellow color, you'll need more; if you want a saturated color, you'll need more.

Put the roving into the glass jar. Don't be afraid to stuff it in thar. If you want a more stippled yarn, dust it with straight KoolAid powder as you stuff it in. Otherwise, just put it in as-is.

Dissolve the KoolAid in a little water; pour it over the wool, and then quickly add as much water as you can get in there. Take a chopstick and sorta swirl it around in the jar to get the KoolAid as evenly distributed as possible. Don't poke at the wool too much or you'll start to felt it. Make sure all the wool is under the KoolAid.

Microwave the jar on high for 2 minutes. Let it rest for 5-6 minutes, then microwave again for 2 more minutes. Take it out of the microwave and put it somewhere it won't get tipped over. Then forget about it for a while. Overnight is good.

When the water is cool, it should be clear, or close to clear. That means all the dye is now in the fiber. Pour out the water and carefully take out the wool. Fill a sink or bowl with water and use it to rinse the wool. DO NOT RINSE IT UNDER RUNNING WATER. Again, you will felt it. Just put it in the water and gently squeeze water through it. Chances are good that no dye will come out; the dye will have "struck" and is now permanently bonded to the fiber.

Squeeze as much water out as you can. If you can, put it in a pillowcase, take it outside, and swing it around your head. Salad spinners also work. If you can't do either, don't worry about it. It'll just take longer to dry. Spread it out on a screen, a rack, or failing those, a towel.

Ta da! You have dyed wool!

Here are examples of wool I dyed nearly 4 years ago, using Easter egg dye (closely related). These were dyed in the roving and then spun. I think it's Navajo plied:

Remember, this will only work with protein fibers. That means silk, wool, mohair, soy silk--anything from an animal or derived from a protein source--and blends thereof. Have fun!