Every now and then the desire to dye wool yarn hits me. So far I have not invested in professional dyes. I use food coloring and/or unsweetened drink mix (ie: Kool-Aid).
This time I used 5 packets of Kool-Aid pink lemonade and 2 packets of cherry flavor. I dyed a hank of Knit Picks Bare Wool of The Andeas.
I don’t really have a recipe for dying wool. I just do what works for me. I start by making sure that the hank is tied in enough places to keep it from becoming tangled during the dying. If you want to have the wool dye solid or semi-solid then tie it loosely. If you want to have some relief (undyed areas), then tie it very tightly with acrylic yarn. The acrylic yarn will not take the dye so it keeps the wool undyed in those areas. This was my first time doing this. I wanted just a little bit of patterning.
I soak the undyed wool in a bath of lukewarm water and a good “glug” of distilled vinegar. Maybe about 1/2 cup of vinegar. While the wool is soaking I get the dye ready. In a large stainless steel pot I mix my Kool-Aid and more vinegar. Maybe about 3/4 cup. I dip test pieces of wool yarn in to see if I’m liking the color. The water is lukewarm.
After about 30 minutes or so I transfer the yarn to the dye pot and turn the stove to low or medium low. You want the water hot enough to set the dye but not so hot that you begin to felt the yarn. Never boil yarn when dying it. When the water is clear (all of the dye has gone into the yarn), I remove the pot from the heat and let it cool. Then rinse the yarn in cool water and allow to dry. Easy peasy! 
Tip: For brighter colors add a some neon food coloring. You can find it in the baking section of most grocery stores.
