today I have been continuing on with the play silk dying. Some of the colors were patchy so I re-dyed and I also dyed a few more
They are so nice to watch flowing in the breeze and with the wind we had this morning they took no time at all to dry!
I had two of these large silks but unfortunately I scorched a hole in this one on the hot stove. I knew the hole would tear easily with play so instead i hung it over our book corner. I'm planning on re dying it to be a bit brighter as I think it looks a bit washed out against our white walls but once its a bit cheerier I think It will look nice.
At least this one can still be for cubby houses!
we also have 'rainbow bridges'
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| my helper rinsing the little silks. She loved swirling and playing with all the wet coloured silks |
I cut up one silk into 16 small squares and dyed them different colours. All those years ago when I bought our first silks I wanted to make
one of these mobiles but I didn't have any silk to spare so now finally I can! I have a spare set of colors plus a few white squares left which i'm sure ill make good use of in future craft projects
here are the squares freshly ironed
I also dyed a long skinny piece
I love it on the play kitchen but i'm tempted to cut it into strips and hem it to make
these (obviously not as long as awesome as that one but they would be a nice size for the little toddlers)
I also attempted to dye this silk purple but as you can see it didn't turn out as planned. It's still nice though
They turned out beautifully!
ReplyDeleteMay I make a suggestion for future attempts? Another method of dyeing would be to soak the silks in water, lay out some platic wrap on a table, wring most of the water from the silk and lay it on the platic sort of rolled into a tube (so that you can "paint" stripes across it to get the rainbow). Use the dyes in squirt bottles and massage the dye through all the layers (wear gloves!) - don't use so much dye/liquid that it puddles out or you'll muddle the colors. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes and then securely wrap it up in the plastic (like a burrito). You can then steam it in a veggie steamer (that is no longer food safe) for 20-30 minutes. Let it cool completely before unwrapping. The colors might be more vivid or at least more solid that way.
I wonder if that would work with my dyes? For mine there needs to be vinegar in the water. I might try soaking them in stronger vinegar water and then try your suggestions
DeleteAll the dyes I use require acid, too. You can either soak the silks in vinegar water or add the vinegar to the dye itself. I use Jacquard and Greener Shades for all of my dyeing.
DeleteLove the rainbow colors, it seems the kids do too! What a fun thing.
ReplyDeletethankyou:)
DeleteMore beautiful photos and lovely ideas. I like the silk above your book corner (I like your book corner for that matter to). The soft colors make it more dreamlike. Just my two cents. Be well.
ReplyDeleteit is rather dreamy to look up at:) maybe ill leave it as is for a while and then decide
DeleteI love all the wonderful colours and I really like the cozy effect it gives your little book nook!They brighten up an environment beautifully don't they!
ReplyDeleteI agree, I smile when I walk in the room, its just what the room needed
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