by Kate Semp
Monday morning with one little one under the weather, another transitioning from diapers to underwear, the first rain in forever means figuring out something to do indoors. I decided to finally tackle a project I started a year ago (maybe more….) – dyeing play silks. If you can boil water you can dye your own play silks.
Play silks (a good friend I purchased a varierty from Dharma Trading Co.)
Plenty of Kool-Aid packets in a variety of colors. 
Vinegar
Bowls, mason jars, stock pot etc.
Pre-soak the silks in warm water and vinegar for about 20-30 minutes. 
In bowl or mason jar add Kool-Aid packet, water and a few “glugs” of vinegar. You can either place in microwave for 2-3min or boil mason jars in a large pot. For silks that are microwaved, let them sit for a few minutes and then you can either re-microwave or rinse. Repeat microwaving until you get the depth of color you want. For the ones on the stove I let them sit 5-10minutes depending on how dark I wanted them. When you are done soaking rinse the silks until they run clear (took a bit longer with red and orange).
Things to keep in mind –
•The size of the soaking vessel, the number of packets of Kool-Aid and the size of the silk can effect how dark the color and how evenly the color is absorbed.
•Kool-Aid dyes proteins and pretty much anything it comes in contact with (wet or dry) so you may want gloves! (you can also dye soy silk and wool)
•Pretty easy to do with little ones because you can’t really mess them up. If they sit longer than you intended because someone needs to go to the bathroom you can leave them to soak no worries.
•It’s really funny when the kids try and sneak a taste of the Kool-Aid and realize that it’s not sweet!!
Younger children really can’t help with the boiling and soaking process but they can help rinse the silks and hang them to dry.
After we finished making these in the morning we now have fun new things to play with in the afternoon!
