# How to Dye Pasta
> Shake dry pasta in sealed bags with gel food coloring and rubbing alcohol, then dry it on a lined tray. Use the rainbow pasta for sensory play, threading, counting and craft projects.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/how-to-dye-pasta-for-art-projects/
- Ages: 3–8 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium
- Time: prep 40 min, activity 30 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class
- Skills: colors, fine-motor, counting, patterns, sensory
- Cautions: wheat-gluten, food-dye, ingestion-risk

## Materials (one batch)
- Dry pasta (penne, rotini, bow-tie, wagon wheel) (household)
- 2 drop Gel food coloring
- 1 capful Rubbing alcohol
- 7 piece Small zippered bags (household)
- 2 pinch Glitter (optional)
- Cookie sheet lined with paper towels (household)
- 1 piece White paper plates (optional) (household)
- Baker's twine (optional)
- 1 piece Flat under-bed storage bin (optional)

## Substitutions
- Instead of rubbing alcohol: White vinegar (Common alcohol-free method; not tested in this post.)

## Safety
- Rubbing alcohol is adult-only: an adult adds it and seals the bags. It is flammable — use in a ventilated area away from heat or flames.
- Dyed pasta is not food — don't eat it.
- Dry pasta pieces are a choking hazard; supervise children under 3 closely.
- Pasta contains wheat/gluten.

## Before you start
- Adult dyes and dries the pasta before the activity (alcohol step is adult-only).

## Steps
1. Divide the dry pasta into 7 small zippered bags.
2. Adult adds 2 squirts of gel food color and 1 capful of rubbing alcohol to each bag.
3. For glitter pasta, add 2 pinches of glitter to the bag.
4. Seal the bags tightly and shake until the color is evenly spread.
5. Spread the pasta on a paper-towel-lined cookie sheet to dry.
6. Lay the dry pasta out on white paper plates or in a flat bin to explore.
7. Thread the pasta on baker's twine to make necklaces.

## Tips
- Make sure you get the color evenly spread over the pasta — some of my green wasn't evenly mixed.
- The pasta doesn't take long to dry.
- If you're worried the kids will dump it all first, put the pasta in a flat under-bed storage bin and let them explore it as a sensory activity before the craft.
- Threading is a good time to practice counting, skip counting or patterning.

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2020)

Use regular food coloring to *dye pasta* and use them for [kids art projects](https://www.funlittles.com/category/art-projects/), [kids crafts](https://www.funlittles.com/category/crafts/) and for [learning activities](https://www.funlittles.com/tag/learn/)

Dying pasta is one of the easiest [art/ play recipe](https://www.funlittles.com/tag/play-recipe/) you can create instantly. Once you are done those tiny little gorgeous colorful pieces are ready for any art project, craft or even learning activity for the little ones.

Materials

- **[AmeriColor Gel Food Color](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0029YDR82/?tag=blmemo-20)**
- **[Rubbing Alcohol](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001B5JT8C/?tag=blmemo-20)**
- **[Penne Pasta](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DRA8KGQ/?tag=blmemo-20)**
- **[Rotini Pasta](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IB1D0IO/?tag=blmemo-20)**
- **[Farfelle Pasta](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DRA8KCA/?tag=blmemo-20)**
- **[Rotelle Pasta](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003LJW744/?tag=blmemo-20)**
- **[Glitter](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F8T4O0/?tag=blmemo-20)**

### How to dye pasta using food coloring

Gather all your boring, uncolored dry pasta and get ready to transform them into something fun. I used all kinds { bow-tie, wagon wheel, penne, rotini} Grab 7 little zippered baggies. Divide your dry pasta into the zippered bags. Add 2 squirts of our favorite [AmeriColor Gel Food Color](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0029YDR82/?tag=blmemo-20) 1 capful of rubbing alcholol and start shaking!! Make sure the bags are tightly sealed.  Once the colors are evenly mixed, spread on a paper towel lined cookie sheet . {some of my green was not evenly mixed. So make sure you get all the color evenly spread out over the pasta.}  If you want glitter pasta, add 2 pinches of glitter inside the bags along with the food color and rubbing alchohol.  The pasta doesn't take that long to dry.  Once dry, set up a colorful "invitation to play". Lay out the colored pasta on a crisp white paper plate and invite the kids to create.  If you are worried that your kids would probably first dump the contents, place the pasta inside a [**f****lat under bed storage bin**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZY2M92/?tag=blmemo-20) like this one we use. The kids can first explore the pasta first. May be a sensory activity can come before a kids art project or a craft.  Well as you can see, coloring pasta is very simple and once colored, they can be used in a variety of ways. After coloring the pasta, we used a baker's twine to thread the pasta. Good time to practice counting, skip counting or patterning with your kids.   *Some pasta crafts and activities we have done*

- **[

](https://www.funlittles.com/engineering-for-kids-build-with-pasta/)**
- **[Pasta Structures](https://www.funlittles.com/engineering-for-kids-build-with-pasta/)**
- **[Fine Motor activity with pasta and playdough](https://www.funlittles.com/fine-motor-activities-rainbow-pasta-playdough/)**

*Great kids activities using pasta*

- [Caterpillar Pasta Craft](http://buggyandbuddy.com/the-very-hungry-caterpillar-necklace-craft/)
- [Heart Pasta Art](http://www.momto2poshlildivas.com/2012/01/valentine-craft-colored-pasta-wagon.html)

Thanks for reading