For example, tube pasta like ziti works great if you’re making beaded jewelry. [1] X Research source Bowtie, elbow macaroni, rotini, and penne are excellent for sensory play activities. [2] X Research source
Be sure to leave about 2 inches (5. 1 cm) of headspace so you can move the pasta around and distribute the food coloring. Freezer bags are ideal because they seal tightly and are heavy-duty. If you only have regular baggies, though, you can use them.
If possible, use isopropyl alcohol with 70% concentration. Higher concentrations may cause stickiness and be harder to blend. You can substitute distilled white vinegar if you don’t want to use alcohol. Use 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of white vinegar. [5] X Research source
For example, mixing blue and red food coloring will result in purple dye. You can also use liquid watercolors instead of food coloring for this project, if you prefer. The results may be more vibrant. [7] X Research source
Make sure the baggie is completely sealed before you start shaking to avoid making a mess!
Every time you flip the bags, take note of the vibrancy. You can stop soaking the pasta whenever it reaches your desired hue.
Avoid mixing colors at the point—keep a little space between each color.
Be sure to keep the storage container somewhere dry and cool to keep the pasta in good shape. [12] X Research source
Note that 1 pound (450 g) of noodles will make 4 servings of colored pasta. You can adjust the amounts if you need to make more or less. Make the noodles al dente if you plan to warm them back up after dyeing them.
Let the noodles sit in the colander and continue draining as you prepare the food coloring.
If you want to make pastel noodles, use 10 drops of food coloring instead of 20. [16] X Research source You can also mix your own colors. For example, mix yellow and blue together to make your own green shade. Red and blue will make purple, and red and yellow will make orange.
You can experiment with letting the noodles soak longer than 1 minute, but they likely won’t get that much more vibrant.
Do the same for the rest of the colors.
The pasta shouldn’t be totally cold after rinsing it quickly with cool water, but if you want the noodles to be hotter, toss them in a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. [22] X Research source
