play silks color washed out :(

[cera]

I died some play silks using the koolaid microwave method and I thought all was perfect until our orange play silk came upon a mishap due to our puking cat But when I popped in in the wash almost all the color came out and it is now a barely there faint orange. What did I do wrong? I will be making some more for a friends dd and don't want the same thing to happen. Please help me out.

[E.V. Lowi]

I was under the impression that koolaid was only for wool, but I'm no expert.

[Tilia]

Koolaid works for silks quite well. I think the harder colors are orange and yellow. You have to start with a dark mix.

I believe you need to set the color with heat AND vinegar. I use both and a little color does wash out, but not all. I use hot water and then I let it sit until I like the color. Then I pop it into a cold bowl of water with 1/2 cup of white vinegar. I let that sit for a while and then wash it in the machine on hot to make sure it is not bleeding.

You can re-dye it or dye over it again, I think it will still work.

[cera]

Originally Posted by Tilia

Koolaid works for silks quite well. I think the harder colors are orange and yellow. You have to start with a dark mix.

I believe you need to set the color with heat AND vinegar. I use both and a little color does wash out, but not all. I use hot water and then I let it sit until I like the color. Then I pop it into a cold bowl of water with 1/2 cup of white vinegar. I let that sit for a while and then wash it in the machine on hot to make sure it is not bleeding.

You can re-dye it or dye over it again, I think it will still work.

Maybe the problem then was that I added the vinegar to the hot water/koolaid mixture not to the cold rinse?

[mommy2maya]

no, it is supposed to be in the hot water. How long did you cook it? It might not have set properly.

[BethSLP]

I didnt even microwave mine. I just followed the directions on this page:

http://www.make-baby-stuff.com/play-silks.html

She instructs to handwash only. Maybe that was the problem??

XOXO
B

[Think of Winter]

I handwash, but even then I've had trouble with the color coming out in soapy water. The good news is, you can just redo it. I've done a dozen or so at this point, and the best results I've gotten for color-fastness have been microwaving the just-dyed silk, still wet from the water-vinegar solution, wrapped in saran, for 1-2 minutes at a time. The temp you need to set the dye is a lot higher than the temp you need to have the silk take up the dye.

[delly]

I've been worried about babies mouthing the playsilks and ending up with dye all over their mouths. Hasn't happened yet, but you know if I give them as a gift, THOSE'll be the ones that bleed. - So I'm looking for any tips for making them colorfast!

[KJoslyn78]

i've only ever use food safe coloring to dye my silks, so the dye wouldnt hurt anyone who may mouth it.

Also, when i did my silks, i used vinegar to help set the color. So far the only 1 i had issue with was yellow - but it was so light and hard to dye to begin with - i havent worried over it to much... i just grab some more kool aid and re-dye it

I msy try the microwave to help set it more when i re-dye my yellow one again!

[catballou24]

subbing as i'm about to dip my toes in to the world of kool aid dyeing. have used dharma dyes until now, but am way more intrigued with the colors produced by kool aid.

[delly]

Originally Posted by KJoslyn78

i've only ever use food safe coloring to dye my silks, so the dye wouldnt hurt anyone who may mouth it.

Yeah, I would only use food safe stuff too, but it would bother me personally if someone gave me something that made a mess just because a baby drooled on it, so I'm overcautious about giving them, I guess.

[PatchChild]

It's so good to know that Kool-Aid has a good use. Can you imagine drinking it, given how well it dyes things?

[KJoslyn78]

Originally Posted by delly

Yeah, I would only use food safe stuff too, but it would bother me personally if someone gave me something that made a mess just because a baby drooled on it, so I'm overcautious about giving them, I guess.

My kids and nephew have put the play silks i've dyed in their mouths, and the dye didn't come put by that... just while washing (hand washing).

[cera]

I also never had any die bleed from ds putting the silks in his mouth, they just came out in the machine.

[delly]

Originally Posted by KJoslyn78

My kids and nephew have put the play silks i've dyed in their mouths, and the dye didn't come put by that... just while washing (hand washing).

That's good to know!