Dyeing in Black

Ok, so got on ebay to see what kool aid flavors were out there and found this...

Scary Blackberry "Ghoul Aid." Of course, I bought some (read "72 packets")

Skeined up the last of my Fishermen's Knitting Wool (only ~54g left). Tied cotton ties so I would have 5 roughly even portions to dye that would represent ~1/8 of a 100g skein.
Here's the mixes I tested, From bottom right, clockwise: Blackberry, Blackberry + 2 Lemonade, Blackberry + 2 Lemonade+ Ice Blue Raspberry, Blackberry + Lemon Lime, Blackberry + Lemon Lime + Orange.


Yarn added.


Ready to zap...


90 minutes later...the dye baths are all FINALLY exhausted. The BB + LL took the longest to exhaust. I was only zapping for 2 min at a time and letting it rest for 2-5 min in between.


This pic is blurry but it has the best match to the color I see with the naked eye.
From left is BB+LL+Orange, BB, BB+Lemon, BB+Lemon+IBR, BB+LL


Here's with a flash


Blackberry alone


Blackberry + 2 Lemonade


Blackberry + 2 Lemonade + Ice Blue Raspberry


Blackberry + Lemon Lime


Blackberry + Lemon Lime + Orange


Results:
BB alone is a really pretty dark purple.
BB + 2 Lemon is not that different.

The closest to black (in my opinion) is BB +LL. If I was to try it as a stripe on a 1/4 skein I would use 2 BB, 2 LL, and one IBR or berry blue just to liven it up a bit. There are some nice grays but it's pretty flat as it is.

BB + 2 Lemon + IBRL is close to a cool black. There is potential for a nice navy here too.

To get these approximate results on 100g, multiply packets by 8.

I haven't decided if I'm going to over dye the BB + LL + Orange. It kinda reminds of army fatigues. If I do, I'll add more BB or grape.

And there are some pretty cool looking combos at the edges of the dyed sections. I have NO IDEA what I'm gonna make with it :) LOL