Overdying yarn, apparently not my thing

Hello again. I know it's been months, but I find that posting my photos only on Instagram has been serving my purpose. Since I typically have little to say about the hats or items I create, it is much easier to only post there. However with this particular project I had a little more story to tell so I thought I'd share a blog post, just because. 

In one of my Ravelry group there have been great discussions about overdying ugly yarn purchases using a variety of methods. I was very excited about the prospect years ago but just never had the time. I have some rather bright yellow/gold yarn that on it's own was just a bit much so I thought I'd finally give dying a try. Easter was last week, so I bought an egg kit, on sale, and then a couple packs of Kool-aid. Why not try two ways and compare?

Since it had been quite some time, I did re-read all the posts, searched a few videos and found most that most people were talking about dying just the yarn, not the hat already made. Okay...mistake number one on my part.

For the hat on the left I used mystery Easter egg dye pellets that looked blue in the water and basically just made the hat darker. Which I liked.

For the hat on the right I used Kool-aid in Blue Raspberry Lemonade and Mixed Berry which also looked blue in the water and basically turned the hat a bright green. Although I moved the hat around in the water quite a bit, the dye did not penetrate all areas and it came out blotchy. Which I do not like.

However, I've been reassured by several people in my Ravelry group that they like the spottiness of the hat. I think they are just being kind. I will however send the hat along with the rest of my donations later this year and allow our coordinator to decide if it is worthy to continue forward. 

It is safe to say I obviously made more than that one mistake. Why did my yarn not accept the dye as readily as others? Why did the one hat blotch? I mean, these hats were cooked, and cooked well. 

I'm not rushing out to buy more Kool-Aid or egg dye. I think I will leave yarn dying to the experts. I can live without mastering this particular skill. lol