Dyeing Playsilks

We dyed playsilks using Kool-aid using three different methods.

First you will need to purchase blank playsilks. I purchased these Habotai scarves from Dharma trading in these sizes:

21″ by 21″ (which is the smaller pink one- great for babies) and 35″ by 35″ (which is a great general size for a playsilk).

While you wait for these to come in the mail go buy some unsweetened Kool-Aid and some vinegar. (Gloves would also be a good idea! If you don’t have gloves then do what I did… put your hand in a ziplock bag)

Pre-soak your play silks in water for 30 minutes and add a 1/4 cup of vinegar.

How to dye play silks:

I tried three different methods to dye the playsilks.

First Method:
Using another silver container (like the one I used to soak the playsilk in) I added 3 packets of pink lemonade and added boiling water(from my kettle). I made sure to mix it in and then placed my silk scarf in. The pink scarf measured 21″ by 21″ so it fit appropriately in the container.
I left it in for a few minutes until the water it was soaking in turned clear. (Maybe 3-4 minutes). I then rinsed it out and surprisingly no color ran. Laid it out to dry and it looks great.

Its the perfect size to play peek-a-boo with Aaliya.

Method Two: On the stove.

Add 3 Kool-aid Packet to pots.

Add a little bit of hot water to mix the color in. Let it simmer for a minute while you wring out your play silk from the pre-soak.

Add in your play silk and hot water to cover the silk. (Its important to remember that the more water you add the lighter the color will be. You will need enough water though to make it dye evenly).

Turn the heat down to medium and mix every so often.

When the water turns clear-ish (after about 20 minutes) and it looks like the play silk has sucked in all the color you can take it out and rinse it until the color stops running. (Again, mine didn’t run at all)
Hang to Dry.
As you can see the green didn’t dye evenly, it took on a bit of a tie dye look. A lot of people prefer it that way since it looks pretty.
Me? I’m not really sure which look I like better…

The dye took on a tie dye approach because the silk was scrunched up when I put it in the pot. If you like it like that then use a smaller dish/pot. If you want it even then use a bigger pot or add your play silk slowly making sure to get even coverage.

Method Three: Maybe this should be called method one and a half since the only difference is that I used a large cookie sheet…

Anyway,
Since I wanted the blue to be more even(after dyeing it on the stove) I added one more packet of berry blue to a large cookie sheet, added some hot water(enough to cover the silk) and I placed the playsilk evenly in. (It was sort of flat like how you would fold a blanket).

It dyed beautifully and very even. The light spot in the pic above on the blue is the sun.
(I’m sure this can be done without using the stove like in Method One).

There are many different ways this can be done. One of which is by using the microwave. I plan to try that in the future since I ordered A LOT of play silks and have many colors to try.

Have you made playsilks? I’d love to see so we can get ideas on colors 🙂