Dyeing Playsilks with Wilton Icing Dyes

Playsilks are the ultimate open-ended toy. The only limit to their potential is your child's imagination...and your bank account. Buying pre-dyed silks can be very expensive, starting around $10 without shipping for a 35 x 35 inch silk. But you don't have to pay for something you can easily do yourself!

There are several places online that you can buy undyed silks. 8mm habotai pre-hemmed silk is what you're looking for and I've always bought my from Dharma Trading Co. They have great prices and a large selection of sizes. An undyed 35 x 35 inch silk from Dharma Trading Co is only $3.75 and the tiny bit of icing dye you will use on one will bring the total cost of a beautiful playsilk to under $4.

Wilton icing dyes can be found in craft stores like Michael's, and Wal-Mart or Target, as well as online. You only really need to buy the three primary colors but it helps if you can buy others too. A set of eight 0.5oz jars will run about $10, which sounds pricey but you will use about 1/4 teaspoon per each large silk. The Wilton dyes are 100% safe and non-toxic because they are food grade. You can use any of your pots for dyeing your silks without worrying about chemicals.

Wash and line-dry your silks before dyeing them. You will need distilled white vinegar, a large pot (or two if you want to dye more than one silk at a time), a whisk or large spoon, your dyes and water. The vinegar is necessary to set the dye. I soak my silks in vinegar while my pot comes to a boil. I've found that this gives a more even color in the end.

Fill your pot with enough water to cover the silk and give it room to move. If you're a precision person, add 1 cup of vinegar to the water, but pouring a couple glugs in the water works just fine too. Add a glob of your dye to the pot, about a 1/4 teaspoon should do. Avoid the temptation to add a lot, you'll never get the excess dye out in the end if you do. You're not limited to the colors you have bought, be creative and mix your own! Bring the pot of water, vinegar and dye to a boil, being sure to thoroughly dissolve the dye or else you'll end up with spots on your silk. Once your water is boiling, add the silk and turn the heat down to a high simmer. Make sure to open up the silk and stir it well so the color will be even. There's no minimum or maximum amount of time to simmer your silk. The time depends on how intense you want the color: the longer it simmers, the deeper and more intense it will be. If you want the most vibrant color, simmer the silk until the water is almost clear, then you'll know that all the dye has been absorbed. Keep stirring the silk every few minutes to ensure even coloring.

When your desired color has been obtained, carefully remove the silk from the pot or drain the pot into the sink. For good measure, I pour some extra vinegar and cold water into the empty pot and swish the silk around for a minute or two to be sure the dye is set. After that, rinse the silk under cold running water until the water runs clear. Some colors, like reds, seem to take longer to rinse out for some reason. Just stick with it because you want your silks to be colorfast. Once the water runs clear, hang dry. If you're not satisfied with the color, either the shade or the intensity, you can dye it again using the same process.

The dyeing process really is mistake-proof. Don't be afraid to take risks and experiment! You can make multi-colored silks by simmering different sections of the silk in different pots of dye. You can create a tie-dyed effect by wrapping rubber bands around the silk and tossing it in the pot. Just like the only limit to a playsilk's potential is your child's imagination, the only limit to a playsilk's color is your imagination. Don't pay $10 or more for a pre-dyed silk when you can make one just as beautiful for less than half the price!