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  • Raising Outdoor Kids
    • Cooking & Crafting

      How to Make Birdseed Ornaments for Wild…

      November 27, 2020

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      Beautiful Spring Picture Books for Children

      March 28, 2020

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      Playing in Nature Protects Our Children During…

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    • All Alberta British Columbia Lower Mainland Northern Interior Okanagan
      British Columbia

      Hiking and Camping with Kids at Kokanee…

      July 30, 2018

      Okanagan

      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

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      British Columbia

      Family-Friendly Adventures on BC’s Sunshine Coast

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      A National Park Reserve in the South…

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      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

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      Rock Climbing with Kids in Jasper National…

      August 8, 2017

      Alberta

      Family Adventures in Jasper National Park: 10…

      July 26, 2017

      Alberta

      Shaw’s Point Resort

      August 6, 2015

      Alberta

      Apiaries in Northern Alberta

      August 5, 2015

      Alberta

      St. Isidore, Alberta

      August 4, 2015

      Alberta

      The Hoodoos

      July 29, 2015

      Alberta

      Royal Tyrrell Museum

      July 28, 2015

      Alberta

      Bow Valley Campground

      July 27, 2015

      British Columbia

      Hiking and Camping with Kids at Kokanee…

      July 30, 2018

      British Columbia

      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      December 1, 2017

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      Family-Friendly Adventures on BC’s Sunshine Coast

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      A National Park Reserve in the South…

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      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

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      Hiking Spion Kop with Kids in Lake…

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      Biking the Stanley Park Seawall

      July 27, 2016

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      Exploring Deep Cove and Quarry Rock Trail

      July 25, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      Visiting Queen Elizabeth Park

      July 22, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      Biking Through Pacific Spirit Regional Park

      July 20, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      Exploring Lynn Canyon Park

      July 18, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      1001 Steps to the Beach

      April 19, 2014

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      Life at Ness Lake

      September 1, 2016

      Northern Interior

      McMillan Creek Regional Park

      October 8, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Ferguson Lake Nature Reserve

      October 6, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Eskers Provincial Park

      October 5, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Autumn in Northern British Columbia

      September 28, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Wildflowers in Northern British Columbia

      June 6, 2015

      Northern Interior

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      June 2, 2015

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      June 19, 2013

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Backwoods Mama

Crafting

Dyeing Play Silks with Kool Aid

November 16, 2011

A year ago, I purchased six 35″ x 35″ Habotai silk scarves from Dharma Trading Co. to dye into play silks. The silks got stowed away only to be discovered by my son last week. Today I got around to dying the silks. I was surprised by how easy the process was and want to share a few of my discoveries.

What are play silks?

Play silks are pieces of dyed silk that little ones can use for imaginative play. A piece of blue silk can become a river when laid on the ground or a piece of red silk can become a cape. Purchasing play silks can be quite expensive. They can cost around $15-$20 for one 35″ x 35″ silk.  Dharma Trading Co. sells their 35″ x 35″ Habotai silk scarves for $5.19 USD each. Even with the cost shipping and dye (Kool Aid) it is much more affordable.

How to dye play silks?

There are many blog posts on the topic of dyeing play silks with Kool Aid. I used this post as a guide. Here is an abbreviated walk through of how to dye silks with Kool Aid.

Gather:
silks
Kool Aid pouches (2-3 pouches per silk depending on size of silk)
white vinegar
a medium saucepan (3-4L)
wooden spoons
large plastic Ziploc bag
clothes rack

1. Wash silks to remove residue and oils. You can wash them in the washing machine or toss them in a sink full of warm water with a little dish soap, swish and rinse.

2. For one 35″ x 35″ silk, fill a sauce pan with 4 cups of water 1/2 cup of vinegar and two pouches of Kool Aid powder (same flavour). You can double or triple this to accommodate the size or number of silk you’ll be dyeing.

3. Mix and heat until boiling or quite hot. Add wet play silk to pot and stir around to disperse dye into the fabric. Boil for 10 minutes. The silk will absorb the dye. Continue to stir and shift the silk around to ensure an even dye.

4. Place the dyed silk into a large plastic baggie or microwave safe container with lid and place in microwave for 2 minutes. This helps set the dye.

5. Remove silk when cool enough to handle and hang to dry.

That’s it!

A couple notes.

Some colours absorb better than others. Red, orange and pink transferred well, while green did not. I didn’t try purple, blue or yellow but I’ve also read that yellow can be finicky.

Don’t trust the package colour. As you can see above I bought blue Kool Aid but it ended up being red!  Both Monkey and I were disappointed.

I have also read that the certain colours will fade over time.

Dyeing Play Silks with Kool Aid was last modified: June 1st, 2016 by Josée
DYIKool Aid DyePlay silks
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3 comments

Anonymous November 16, 2011 at 6:44 pm

Great post!

Reply
Jane November 17, 2011 at 3:37 am

That's a great idea Josee!! Thanks for using your creativity & posting about it!

Reply
Julia November 21, 2011 at 5:00 am

Neat! I am dyeing yarn with Easter egg dye right now. Hope it turns out as well as your pretty silks.

Reply

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