Dye Your Nylons With Kool-Aid

Pantyhose aren't a big part of a girls wardrobe anymore, but most of us have at least one pair somewhere in the closet or a dresser drawer, just in case.  I think we are more likely to wear colourful tights then the classic nude or black hose now... unless your job requires it.

Nude hose... is a little boring.  Let's make those nude hose something fabulous with a little dye.  Kool-Aid to be specific!  That's right!  And just to settle your curiosity, I'll also show you how nylons do using liquid Rit dye.

I used a few different pairs of nude nylons.  Some were 100% nylon and some nylon / spandex blend.  This method seemed to work well on both.  If you were to use white nylons, the colour would be incredibly vibrant.  This would be fantastic for little girls tights!

Get some Kool-Aid in the colour of your choice.  I grabbed a few individual packets.  I chose a packet with green dye (lemon lime) and one that would be a bright red colour (tropical punch).

I used a mason jar, but any microwavable container would work.  Add the entire packet of Kool-Aid and add 1 to 2 cups of boiling hot water and stir to dissolve.  Get your nylons and using a spoon, push them down into the dye bath.  Microwave the container with the nylons in it for 1 minute.  Stir it around, then let it rest for a couple minutes and repeat until....

You will notice the dye starts to absorb into the nylons leaving the colour of the dye bath looking more watery then when you first mixed it up.  At that point, rinse the nylons in a cold water until the water runs clear.

You can also add a cap full of white vinegar to the rinse water.  This will help set the colour and keep it from bleeding. 

Hang the nylons to dry and admire your new brightly coloured stockings!  Next time, I would use a larger container to dye in.  There were a few uneven spots as you might be able to tell in the photo.

However, once they were on, you couldn't really notice the uneven patches.  Aren't they awesome?

Here are some green knee highs I did with the lemon lime Kool-Aid.  My son saw them and said 'froggy!' lol.

Kool-Aid is an excellent, inexpensive way to dye a pair of stockings with a fabulous array of colours at your disposal.

Rit dye is an great option as well, but at about $7 a bottle and up, not the most economic unless you are doing enough tights for the entire neighbourhood!  The yellow and purple tights above were dyed using Rit Yellow, and Rit Violet liquid dyes.  I used the same method as with the Kool-Aid, using just enough liquid dye to barely cover the bottom of the mason jar before adding the boiling water.  The rest of the steps are exactly the same.

Happy hose dying!