A couple months ago I came upon a tutorial on The Artful Parent for Kool-Aid Dyed Playsilks. I hadn’t really heard about playsilks before that but upon further investigation found out that they’re awesome. They can be pretty much anything your child wants them to be: capes, dresses, blankets, scenery, tents and the list goes on and on.
So, seven of us got together with our seven toddlers (all under 2 years) and dyed 42 playsilks in total. We started around 11 am and didn’t finish until about 5 pm. We did six scarves at a time, with the other mothers pitching in to watch the child of whoever was working on their playsilks. It was a blast seeing so many babies toddlers (oops) running around the house!
After we did the first batch of Kool-Aid packets, some of the mothers decided to get a bit creative with color combination and as a result we ended up with 14 different color at the end of the day. Most of us only did one round of microwaving/sitting and the difference between those that did two rounds was only minimal. We wrote down most of the color combinations so that we would remember exactly how to recreate a color and I thought some of you might be interested in them. I also made a printable project list with all the color combinations as well. Figured it would be easier for you if you didn’t have to run back and forth from the kitchen and the computer!
Edit: Here are a few answers to some of the more popular questions posted in the comments.
Where did you get your scarves/What size were they?
We did a bulk order of 30″ Habotai Scarves from Dharma Trading Co. (around $4.00 each). Non-bulk orders come out to $.16 more per scarf.
Will these bleed?/How do you prevent them from bleeding?
The colors will wash out over time and fade if you wash them often. We just use them for indoor play so quite frankly, I’ve never had to rewash them. (That’s kinda embarrassing to admit.) Rinsing them in vinegar after dying the silks will help set the color more.
Will this process work on other materials (cotton, wool, hair, etc)?
A few of you have mentioned that Kool-Aid will also dye hair and washes out after a few washes. As for other fabrics, I know a ton of people dye raw wool with Kool-Aid and make yarn out of it so I’m sure you can find quite a few tutorials if you google it. Cotton? I honestly have no idea but let me know if any of you try! :)
I can’t read the color combinations! Please help?
You can find all the exact combinations on my printable project list as well as below:
Pink – 3 Pink Lemonade
Red – 2 Chery/2 Jamaica
Maroon – 2 Cherry/1 Blue Berry
Orange – 3 Orange
Dk Orange – 3 Orange/1 Cherry
Yellow – 3 Lemonade
Dk Yelow – 3 Lemonade/1 Orange
Green – 4 Lemon Lime/1 Blue Berry
Lime Green – 3 Lemon Lime
Blue – 4 Blue Berry/1 Grape
Sky Blue – 3 Blue Berry
Purple – 3 Grape
Brown – 2 Lemonade/1 Grape/1 Orange
Dk Brown – 1 Lemonade/1 Grape/1 Orange
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What size did you use? Thank you! :)
I would love to make some for my Kindergarten class. My students wear white dress shirts as part of their uniform so my inquiry is all about how you kept them from the colour bleeding? Can you please share.
You can also recycle by using Kool-Aid to dye hair. ;)
Thanks for a great post.
You mention using the koolaid as hair dye.
It works! But a word of caution, it may not fully wash out. I used it once on my dark blond hair. Most of the color washed out after 2 weeks. But a few pink streaks stayed on and on. I know I still had some pink a year later.
The chart is really helpful! Thanks. Our daughter goes to a Waldorf Kindergarten and they collect marigold petals to dye silks every fall for Michaelmas. I would have to ask what the fixative is but they come out bright yellow and beautiful!
I love how these look. Were you able to dye multiple scarfs with each dye bath or did it take 3-4 packages of kool aid for each scarf?
Sarah- I’ve dyed yarn with Kool-Aid and I would say each dye bath can be used for multiple scarves- BUT- I would put them all in at the same time if you want them all to be the same shade. If you dye one, take it out, dye another, take it out, dye another, take it out, they will progressively get lighter.
Kool-Aid drink powders are basically acid based dyes and as such won’t work on cotton or other cellulose fibers (ie linen, etc).
If you add some vinegar to the water with the Kool Aid, it will create a more acid dye bath and help the color bond to the fabric.
Another type of dye that is food safe is Wilton cake dye. These are particularly fun to work with as you can get several colors from one source, depending on the temperature of the water. The purple and black are loads of fun to watch. You only need a very little bit of the cake dye to get very intense colors.
Nancy—when you say “cake dye” is this the same at the Wilton food coloring gels? Thanks!!
Does anyone know how to get hot pink. Could I use red along with the pink?
The red is pretty powerful. Maybe pink with just a few sprinkles of red?
how much water did you use?
I love this idea we always have extra kool-aid around and I am going to be redecorating mine and my husbands bedroom and have a really cool idea and would love to to this with some white sheets we don’t use. so would like to try this and someone previously had mention if we add some vinigar to the water it might stick so I am going to try this if i can get a answer soon!
I have rayon skirts from Dharma Trading. Will kool aid work on that fabric – if I set it in vinegar afterwards?
I have absolutely no idea, KJ! Let me know what you find out!