Sweater of many (custom!) colors

I've been way too quiet here on the blog lately, but not for lack of crafting! I've got a lot of things I keep meaning to share, but I'm so happy with this one, I had to make the time to blog.

Cast on: Sept 21
Finished: Oct 8
Pattern: Jolie Fleur from DROPS design.
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Sport in Rouge and White

That's right: the only two colors of yarn I purchased for this were the dark pink of the body and the white. The other colors were dyed on the white using McCormick food coloring and Kool Aid!

• Light pink (it's in there): McCormick Neon Pink
• Yellow: McCormick Yellow
• Green: McCormick Green
• Blue: Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade Kool Aid
• Purple: McCormick Neon Purple and McCormick Neon Blue, 2:1.

Dyeing yarn with these is not only easy (and awesome!) but completely food safe, so you can use your regular pots and pans, and it's okay to use them for food afterwards. (I actually used Mason jars in the microwave...) Kool Aid contains enough citric acid to "set" the food dyes on animal fibers (wool, alpaca, silk) and nylon. Food coloring requires additional acid, and I used vinegar. The only other thing you have to do is heat it enough and the yarn soaks the dye right up--but this is probably a post for another day!

I ran out of all the colors I'd dyed as well as the white and had to order and dye more. Fortunately, I'd kept careful notes of the dye formulas I'd used. Unfortunately, I lost those notes. But I was able to remember it pretty well!

I absolutely love how this turned out. But the best part is how much my daughter loves it. She came up to me while I was finishing it and spontaneously told me, "Thank you for working so hard on my sweater." And that makes it even more worth it.

Lots more information on the project and especially progress photos: Project on Ravelry