Playsilks - Page 10

[OHmidwife]

I haven't read the whole thread so forgive me if it's been asked already- but how many silks can you dye with the cake dyes? If you buy the set of 12 colors, does it just dye one silk per color?

Likewise for the kool aid- is it one silk per envelope of kool aid?

Thanks!

[Staceyhsmom1]

Hi
I've never used cake dyes, but I image the answer is no, you should be able to dye several silks(size 35" square or smaller) with cake dyes. I assume you would dilute it.

When I used to dye silks with kool-aid with my daycare, I was able to make about 8 large silks with one kool-aid package, the dye bath gets lighter as it gets soaked into the silks. I guess the stronger you make the diluted solution, the less silks you can make.

I know some people soak the silks in vinegar first, others mix the dye with vinegar.

I soak my silks in vinegar first. I dilute my dyes in hot water, then add more water until I get the color I want. It's also fun to make a varigated silk this way, soaking a portion in strong solution, then another portion in a more diluted solution, continuing as much as you like.

hope I didn't confuse you ;-)

[EmilyS]

I've been collecting silk scarves for a long time and I've bought all mine at thrift stores and garage sales. Some have prettier colors then others but they all are loved by my 2 year old.

[crbyard]

Rainbow Silk Finished!!

I just wanted to post some pics here because it is through reading this thread that I was able to make a rainbow canopy. Thanks, Ladies!!

I used 8 mm silk chiffon from Dharma. I roll hemmed the ends of the 4 yard piece then folded it up and dyed it with acid dyes. Delightful! Now, I am just awaiting the playstand plans so that I may have something to put it on.

http://picasaweb.google.com/crbyard/...46764319918514

[tinasquirrel]

I made some Kool-Aid dyed silk streamer wands last weekend and just posted a tutorial on my blog if anyone is interested!

Tutorial

[isaberg]

Originally Posted by tinasquirrel

I made some Kool-Aid dyed silk streamer wands last weekend and just posted a tutorial on my blog if anyone is interested!

Tutorial

Neat! Thank you! They're fabulous!

[sumella]

Originally Posted by crbyard

I just wanted to post some pics here because it is through reading this thread that I was able to make a rainbow canopy. Thanks, Ladies!!

I used 8 mm silk chiffon from Dharma. I roll hemmed the ends of the 4 yard piece then folded it up and dyed it with acid dyes. Delightful! Now, I am just awaiting the playstand plans so that I may have something to put it on.

http://picasaweb.google.com/crbyard/...46764319918514

This canopy looks great! I have read through the whole thread but I still can't quite figure out how you can get such neat stripes
Sorry, the following questions are probably a bit dumb :
- Did you fold the fabric lengthwise or widthwise?
- Did you separate the areas using rubberbands?
- How did you apply the colour, with an applicator or dipping?

Any tip would be greatly appreciated

Daniela

[RollerCoasterMama]

Had to share and this seems the appropriate thread. A few months ago I did koolaid silks for DS. Another friend was interested, so I sent her one to try out with plans to make more together later this fall. Her husband got it in the mail and was excited and thought it looked like it might be a present. She let him open it. He did and had a wierd look on his face. "Am I just programmed so that when I see purple I smell grape?" Guess what flavor koolaid I used??!?! She resisted the temptation to mess with his mind and told him what I'd used to color the silks. Guess being in envelope for a few days concentrated the scent since you can't smell any of them now.

[KJoslyn78]

Originally Posted by crbyard

I just wanted to post some pics here because it is through reading this thread that I was able to make a rainbow canopy. Thanks, Ladies!!

I used 8 mm silk chiffon from Dharma. I roll hemmed the ends of the 4 yard piece then folded it up and dyed it with acid dyes. Delightful! Now, I am just awaiting the playstand plans so that I may have something to put it on.

http://picasaweb.google.com/crbyard/...46764319918514

: i'm in looooooooove with your rainbow silk

i too want to know how you did it - did you use rubberbands to seperate areas? did you use an applicator for putting the color on?

it looks really great!

[Melaniee]

Originally Posted by crbyard

I just wanted to post some pics here because it is through reading this thread that I was able to make a rainbow canopy. Thanks, Ladies!!

I used 8 mm silk chiffon from Dharma. I roll hemmed the ends of the 4 yard piece then folded it up and dyed it with acid dyes. Delightful! Now, I am just awaiting the playstand plans so that I may have something to put it on.

http://picasaweb.google.com/crbyard/...46764319918514

Wow, that is exactly what I want to make, please do give more details as to how you were able to accomplish it! Thank you!!

[crbyard]

Rainbow silk instructions

Thanks for the love on my rainbow canopy. Here are some instructions using Jacquard Acid Dyes;


For the rainbow playsilk, I rolled the silk up into a tube (the fabric was 3 ft. by 6 ft., so when I rolled it up the tube was three feet long, IYKWIM) and lay it flat on the table. I taped down plastic wrap over some newspaper and a waterproof table cloth to protect the table. I had mixed my dyes in several bowls and simply spooned them on in the rainbow pattern. Make sure to kind of squish the fabric so that the color seeps all the way to the middle. Not much muddling occurs when you are careful, surprisingly. Once the colors are applied, remove the tape (I used blue painter's tape) from the plastic wrap and wrap the length of the silk with the plastic. I then carefully transferred the wrapped silk snake to a plate in a spiral so that it would all fit in the microwave. I then microwaved it until the dyes were very hot (around 5 minutes). Let the silk and dyes cool and then rinse and hang dry. Voila! It is a really fun thing to dye. I was really addicted to rainbows for a while there

[jennica]

Question about Wilton's dye?

Hi. After reading through this thread and reading the instructions here: http://www.make-baby-stuff.com/play-silks.html I tried dying some play silks today. It went great except for one thing. I followed the instructions pretty closely. I used three jars with three colors. I put water and vinegar and a play silk in each jar and heated it up to pretty hot, but not boiling (I had all three jars in a pot of water on the stove). I mixed the Wilton's dyes with vinegar and warm water. I used a couple globs of it, mixed it up as best I could and then strained out the large leftover chunks. I then poured this water/dye/vinegar mixture into my play silk/water/vinegar mixture in the jars. The dye went into the silk nicely and after about 5 minutes the water looked more clear (though it was still colored) and it seemed like no more dye was going to be taken up. When we took the silks out they looked almost tie dyed because of the tight fit inside the jar, which was what I was going for so I was pleased.

Then came the problem:

I rinsed them out in the kitchen sink with cool water until the water looked clear. I then brought them in the bathroom to hang and as I was figuring out a place to hang them I noticed they were dripping color. I rinsed them out again in the bathroom sink and it was like I had never rinsed them. The color was strong and seemed to be never ending. The instructions said to rinse for 2 -3 minutes until the water runs clear, but I rinsed these things for about 10 minutes each. Every time they seemed to run almost clear, I would get sick of trying and move on to another color. Then, when I would go back to the one I set aside, it was like I had never even rinsed it, it would run really dark again. This went on forever until I just got sick of it and hung them up to dry.

So the question:

What do I do now? They were supposed to run clear but didn't ever do that. Did the color never set? Or did I just not rinse long enough? Should I try rinsing again, or maybe soaking them in cold water? Should I try heating them up with vinegar again to get the dye to set better? Or is there any drawback to just going ahead and using them as is? Would the color rub off on stuff or something?

[yeni]

Jennica, did you ever figure out an answer?

I dyed silks for my kids for Christmas 2007 and have been keeping them away from my 8 month old because they bleed when they get wet. I want to do something about that so she can play with them! I initially rinsed until the water ran clear, then washed and dried by machine.

The two possible solutions I have from this thread are ironing (not sure how hot/how long) and perhaps boiling in a water/vinegar solution. Someone mentioned hard water, which I've got, but I'm not sure how that factors into all of this. Maybe I should've used baking soda in my rinse water?

I've had the same problem with some Sharpie-dyed t-shirts my kids made. Those instructions say to set them in the dryer, but my dryer must not get hot enough or something.

[um_hanna]

great ideas

I am about to do this for a nindia (my daughter and friends imaginative land) themed sleepover. so I already ordered the silks, but now I will order more love the ideas!

[tinasquirrel]

I made a rainbow canopy in a different way. I bought three 14x72 silks from Dharma, dyed one blue, one purple and one green with Kool-Aid in the microwave. Then, I just sewed them together! It turned out great. Now I need to buy some more so I can make a second section that is Red-Orange-Yellow.

http://squirrelacorns.blogspot.com/2...ow-canopy.html

[Think of Winter]

success w/ Wiltons and ? regarding egg dyes

I've been puttering with this for years, and my results have been mediocre. I just could not get an even coverage. But I finally did it!! I dyed a veil sized silk a nice, bright, even orange with a Paas dye tab and about 2/3 of a Wilton's orange icing-coloring jar. I'd been posting in Yarn Crafts about my similar problem with dyeing yarn, and got some great suggestions there about giving my item room in the pot, using enough dye, and keeping it hot for a while.

Now for my next question...the time for scooping up super cheap egg dyes is coming. I finally got around to trying dyes from last year last night, and I discovered that it is incredibly difficult to guess the color the dye tablet will give you. The first few that looked orange were actually green.

Is there a trick to this? I tried smudging a dampened tablet on paper, and that helped. And we were dyeing eggs today, so I grabbed some scrap yarn to plop in the dye. Now I have samples, but still, I have to tape the sample to a tablet to be able to match them later. You really cannot tell what color they're going to be. Or can you? Anyone know how many colors of Paas dye tabs there are?

[Think of Winter]

Originally Posted by jennica

What do I do now? They were supposed to run clear but didn't ever do that. Did the color never set? Or did I just not rinse long enough? Should I try rinsing again, or maybe soaking them in cold water? Should I try heating them up with vinegar again to get the dye to set better? Or is there any drawback to just going ahead and using them as is? Would the color rub off on stuff or something?

I think you need more time and more vinegar. I'd try keeping them hot for at least 20 minutes.

You know, Sarah from Sarah's Silks is now an MDC member. I don't know if she'll read this thread, but she's the ultimate play silk resource. It wasn't until I purchased some of her beautiful silks, wands, and capes that I realized how beautiful they could be.

[sarah lee]

Thanks Colleen for the nice compliments on our products!

As to why the playsilks are bleeding I am not sure. I usually dye them then soak them in water with vinegar to rinse. Could it be too much dye? I wonder what would happen if you rinsed them and soaked them until they don't bleed anymore. They would be paler but not run...on the other hand if it is Koolaid is it dangerous for the kids? But it may make a mess!
When I do dyeing projects with kids I find they love to wash them...maybe put a bucket of water outside and let them go at it!

Sarah

[Roar]

Frustrated and hoping to find help...

I'm trying to dye silks. I've used both Wilton's and koolaid. I've tried on the stove and in the microwave. I'm using plenty of vinegar and presoaking. Nothing is coming out colorfast. I just recooked a yellow wilton's silk on the stove with mostly vinegar. Cooked it for an hour then soaked it in cold water and vinegar. Rinsed it and immediately it ran and ran and ran.

I would very much like to find a way to fix the scarves I've already dyed. I'm wondering if I should switch over to a tie dye kit to do the remaining scarves. I've never had problem with those not being colorfast. I've dyed yarn with koolaid and Wilton's before and I'm not sure if it was really colorfast but I'm giving these silks as a gift and I really want them to be colorfast.

In a bit of a Christmas panic and any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Beth F]

Originally Posted by Roar

Frustrated and hoping to find help...

I'm trying to dye silks. I've used both Wilton's and koolaid. I've tried on the stove and in the microwave. I'm using plenty of vinegar and presoaking. Nothing is coming out colorfast. I just recooked a yellow wilton's silk on the stove with mostly vinegar. Cooked it for an hour then soaked it in cold water and vinegar. Rinsed it and immediately it ran and ran and ran.

I would very much like to find a way to fix the scarves I've already dyed. I'm wondering if I should switch over to a tie dye kit to do the remaining scarves. I've never had problem with those not being colorfast. I've dyed yarn with koolaid and Wilton's before and I'm not sure if it was really colorfast but I'm giving these silks as a gift and I really want them to be colorfast.

In a bit of a Christmas panic and any suggestions would be appreciated.

I had the same problem until I read on the Dharma site or catalog (can't remember which one) that you have to let the dye dry and wait a couple of days *before* rinsing if you've dyed it in the dye pot. I wait at least 48 hours now and have found yellow to be much more colorfast. If I "dye paint" with Kool-Aid or Wilton's, then I let it dry and wait 48 hours. Steam it to fix it. Wait 48 hours. Then, I rinse. It has made all the difference.

Hope this helps!