Dying Wool with Kool-Aid

I've been experimenting with dyeing some of our Mohair and Angora. I started researching natural dyes and while I was thinking onion peels and berry juices there is a lot of people out there who use Kool-Aid of all things. Kool-Aid is a permanent dye that is fairly non-toxic and there is enough acid in the mix to where you don't have to use a mordant.
I tried a few different things, I dyed spun yarn, roving and raw fleece. All took the dye extremely well. I mixed a few packets together because I was looking for more of a warm rich color so I blended two packs of Black Cherry, with two packs of Orange to get this rusty red color. Interestingly, the Angora picked up more of a blue pigment than the Mohair.

I sat the yarn in a couple inches of water and slowly heated it on the stove top just before the boiling point. Then I added the packets of Kool-Aid and kept it at a simmer for a minute or so. Then I covered the pot and left the yarn for 30 minutes. When I checked the pot the yarn had absorbed all the dye and the water was clear.
Then I left the yarn soak in the pot until the water had cooled to room temperature then I rinsed the yarn and squeezed it gently.

Then I laid it on my drying rack to dry.

I feel like a lot of the process is trial and error but the basic principles are the same. There is a really good website that gives examples of the colors you can achieve with each flavor of Kool-Aid. http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall02/FEATdyedwool.html
You can also use food coloring to dye yarn but you have to use vinegar to add acid to the dye to give it more sticking power. In the future I would like to start using plants and berries. My friend Camille gave me a magazine with many suggestions using herbs and wild plants. When I try, it I'll let you know how it went.