kool-aid play silks

[SeekerMage]

Well I did it....I kool-aid dyed some silks and they turned out great! I did tie-dyed ones for my nephews b-day present and solids for the girls xmas present (which they have already enjoyed!) Granted I had to dye them twice because I did it wrong the first time, but still 10 times cheaper then buying them pre-done. What do you think? I just had to share my excitement. Here is a pic :)

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/17989.jpg

[macassi]

Those look so very cool! How did you do it? Where do you get the undyed scarves? Does kool-aid stay colorfast?

[redhookmom]

They look wonderful!

[Melanie]

Those are beautiful kathryn. How did you make the red stay so vibrant? I can't get my reds to be colorfast so when I rinse much of the color goes.

[heidi_timms]

I am also interested where you got the silk scarves and would love some directions on how to do it! They look so pretty!
~Heidi
Mom to Kailey
4/03

[winifredzb]

Those are beautiful! I would also like the directions and info on where you purchased the plain scarves.

Thank you for sharing!

[Joshuasmommy]

They turned out great! I also want to know where you got the undyed silk and how exactly you did it.

[brittone2]

Me too, me too!!! Please do share! If I don't have to sew, I'd looooove to make some for DS. I'm also dying (ummm...really didn't mean for that to be a pun ;) ) if they are colorfast....

they are GORGEOUS!!! Great job, mama!

[redhookmom]

For anyone who plans on doing this here is a great page that shows what all the flavors will look like: http://www.thepiper.com/fiberart/koolaid/images/colorchart-max.jpg

[Mikesa3]

They're beautiful.I've been thinking about doing this too and would love directions you used.Also are these washable? Do you have to worry about the color running if the kids get them wet by accident.What size did you get? Enough questions? LOL I want to order some but Dharmatrading is out of the 35x35 right now.I plan on ordering different sizes.
Nancy-Mom to 6 great kids

[Mikesa3]

Thanks,I had that link the other day but the picture was too small to read the words so glad to see this.
Nancy-Mom to 6 great kids

[caheinz]

Ooooh! Oooooh! Me, too -- instructions or general pointers, please!

I keep looking at Dharma, but couldn't figure out how to get the dyes cheap enough... if the kool aid is colorfast enough, though, that would be perfect!

[dr mom]

Anxiously waiting to hear your technique, so I can try this at home!

[holliam]

I LOVE dyeing my own playsilks! Isn't it so much fun? I'm so impressed with the colors you got! No bleeding? My koolaid dyeing isn't that vibrant but I do too many colors and the microwave method... did you do the stovetop method?

I buy my blank play silks from Thai Silks. For you Bay Area gals, it's this great store in Los Altos:

http://www.thaisilks.com/store/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TS&Category_Code=3010

Habotai 8mm scarves.

I don't have my bookmarks here for koolaid dyeing but just do google searches for koolaid dyeing silk or playsilks or even wool and you'll get tons of hits. It's so so so easy!

Holli

[cma]

Those look so pretty!! You did a great job!

I tried to make one with DD over the summer and it kinda looked washed out.

I tried the method I found here: http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=74201

What did you do to make them look so bright? Any advice would be appreciated.

DD ended up playing with it anyway, but if I'm going to give away some as Christmas presents to her playgroup, I'd love for them to look like yours!

[SeekerMage]

"Sigh"
Big disaster and dissapointment on this end. The Kool-aid is NOT colorfast! GRRRRRR!!! None of the websites that I looked at said if they were or not, and they arent.

I redyed mine (a Third time) using vinegar, hoping this would help, I cooked them longer, did everything possible. The colors looked just as bright as above. Then I soaked them in cold water to get all the extra out and hope for no more bleeding...and then washed them in cold water. Here is the end result. No more bleeding (from what I can tell) but alas they are now pretty pastels. Im heading out tomorrow to buy some real dye and praying that they will still take the color and that they turn out bright as stupid me told SIL about the gift and how great it was turning out....Im kinda wishing I didnt check the colorfastness, but then that wouldnt be fair. Sooo much for my trying to save money! Oh, and here is the website where I got the silks. I bought the 5mm (cheapest to save money) 36x36 and they are nice. Granted I dont have an 8mm to compare to but they are strong, a little sheer and the girls clearly loved them. Im going to order the smaller ones later If the redying works, otherwise I give up!

http://www.silkconnection.com/products/scarves/habotai/

Sorry to dissapoint everyone, I know I am...especially after three nights in a row of staying up till 2am dying the stupid things! ARG!

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/18103.jpg

[holliam]

Here is my opinion.. koolaid IS colorfast but I think you used too many packets the first time. I was blown away by the colors you got because I have never seen colors like that from koolaid except with over-dyeing that leads to bleeding.

Koolaid on silk will yield soft pastel colors like you got in this final picture, and they won't bleed. I personally think the colors are beautiful and so much fun! I recommend ironing them also. It will make them airy silky soft again and help to set the colors again.

The only way to get truly vibrant colors on silk and wool (and the only way to dye non-protein fibers like cotton) is to use acid dyes that require a lot more steps and aren't considered food quality dyes.

Re-dyeing with more koolaid is not going to make a difference. You are just going to get more bleeding.

Holli

[miki]

I'm about to tie dye some clothes. This project could use up what dye I have left. But how do the kids play with these scarves?

Also, if you have a sewing machine that takes different feet, there is a foot you can use that can roll a hem on fabric like silk and sheers. I happen to have one I use to make scarves as presents with fabric from the shop. The $10 foot paid for itself with my first project.

[SeekerMage]

I used two packets the first time, and this last time as well. The colors are still really pretty, but I think Im going to try one more time with real dye on one of the sets, perhaps doing tie dye patterns like I originally did (that way if its not even it wont matter. Ill post my results.

Oh, and for directions if anyone is interested. I washed the silks first with dawn, then soaked them in hot water (recommendation is about 20 minutes) I then set out clear cups of vinegar that I added the koolaid to. (this way I could see the resulting color) When that was finished I took the silks, squeezed all the water out and placed them in large ziploc bags. Added the vinegar kool-aid and filled the bag with enough hot water to cover the silks. Squish around the color until the silk looks totally covered and mivrowave for two minutes, cool, then microvae at 20% for five minutes etc until the water is basically clear. Then I went on to the next one. (The microwave method did not produce an even color and took a lot more time an effort I never was able to get the water to clear and thus I dont think this way works well.) I highly recommend the stove top method. Basically I just prepared all the silks as above, but put in a pot, cover with water so the silks are totally covered (if using vinegar its 1 part vinegar two parts water) bring to a low boil and then simmer covered until the water is basically clear, about a half an hour. The red and orange never really cleared, but all the other colors the water was clear. I dont know if it was because I used a lot of kool-aid or if it has something to do with the red color as reds are hard to do. (I used two packets for each one) Either way, what is nice about the stove top method is you basically "forget" about it vs having to constantly take it out, recook etc. Here is the website I basically followed (easier to read instructions)

http://www.thepiper.com/fiberart/koolaid/basic-howto.html

Either way, disaster or not, it was a lot of fun to dye these. Hope I didnt discourage you!

[Melanie]

>Here is my opinion.. koolaid IS colorfast but I think you
>used too many packets the first time. I was blown away by the
>colors you got because I have never seen colors like that from
>koolaid except with over-dyeing that leads to bleeding.


Ditto...they were gorgeous, though! I'll bet if you soak them again, not much will come out. I had the same experience with my silks...beautiful and bold, then washed and dried and they ended up soft and beautiful. The kids didn't really care. Though I think I will try to steer clear of reds from now on b/c I heard one of them still bled. Ds & I made them for party favors for his birthday. We just did random marbles and ties, though, they weren't as solid and uniform as yours (that must have been hard!).

[lerlerler]

how do they play..

these are a fav toy of the creative play school of thought...

big ones can be forts
mid sized? capes, fairy houses, fairy wings, dresses
little ones? hats

your kids will know!

[californiagirl]

We don't have playsilks, but I dyed some single-layer cotton diapers for use as general-purpose wiping-up devices, and now that DD is 9 months, we also use them for peekaboo, chewing on, stuffing into small spaces so that she can pull them out, and so on. On Thanksgiving we happened to have a bright green one with us, and the 4 year old where we had dinner was entranced -- she decided it was wrapping paper and wrapped things in it, she decided it was water, she insisted on covering her chair with it before sitting down... we had trouble getting it back. (We'd only brought one and needed to wipe up the baby!)

[cma]

Holli or anyone who knows??

I like the idea of kool-aid dye because I could do this with DD and also not worry about DS sucking on the playsilks.

If you use acid dyes what are the safe ones you can use around kids?

Can I use the dyes from Dharma? I've only dyed things with ritz!

I was thinking of giving silks to DDs friends and they are all out of the oral stage. But they have little siblings who are still sticking everything in their mouths.

TIA