Apparently concentrated Kool-Aid can be used as a pretty effective leather dye.
I was making a drink while cutting the snaps off some new straps for my pauldrons and I got curious, so I tried it, thinking, “ok even if this works, it will just wash out.”
Nope.
It took the “dye” (undiluted) in about 3 seconds. After drying for about an hour and a half, it would not wash off in the hottest tap-water. It would not wash out after soaking for 30 minutes. It did not wash out until I BOILED it, and even then, only by a tiny bit and it gave it a weathered look that was kind of cool. Add some waterproofing and I’d wager it would survive even that.
That rich red is only one application too. Plus it smells great, lol.
So there you go, cheap, fruity smelling leather dye in all the colors Kool-Aid has to offer.
WELL THEN!
this may be important to some of my followers *and certainly not just getting reblogged because of my costuming and my boyfriends desire for leather armor*
When I was in middle school we used to use it to dye our hair. Potent stuff.
If you’re dying anything with kool-aid it’s best to use SUGAR-FREE ones otherwise the thing you’re dying might get all sticky
the flavor only packets where you are supposed add sugar are the best. they will dye any natural fiber: leather, wool, cotton, hair, flax, jute, silk and so forth. heat the dye water so it is more potent. let dry then rinse excess out in cold water. there’s a whole system to this.
Oh my god
This will prove very useful for any future cosplays I wanna do.
DUDE
Ohhhh a color chart excellent!
USEFULLLLLL
Handspun wool yarn, dyed with Kool-Aid in 1994
What the fuck is kool-aid made of to dye so much stuff and not wash out holy shit?????
It’s an acid dye (it contains its own citric acid, because it’s a citrus drink!). It only binds properly to “animal proteins,” so leather/silk/wool/human hair, but not vegetable matter like cotton or linen, and not polymer products like polyester. It does need heat-setting if it’s going to be washed, so when OP washed it in hot water they fixed the dye more permanently.
The same effects are easily done with any food colouring agents (cake decorating food colouring, etc) used alongside cheap vinegar - KoolAid is just used because it’s pre-mixed and neon-toned, but this is part of the greater Food Coloring Dying Methods which themselves form part of the dying-from-edible-materials family, which included beetroot, walnuts, turmeric, tea, blueberry skins, wine and so on.
