Dye Playsilks with Kool-Aid

Kids love playing with scarves. I know playsilks are a huge favorite at our home. They're also very versatile. I use Eli's green silks in place of plastic grass in his Easter Basket. I've given playsilks as gifts, using it to wrap presents in. Playsilks spark the imagination and can become everything from a superhero cape to flapping birds wings.


Dyeing them with Kool-Aid is simple. First, buy Kool-Aid in the colors you want. The above one is Berry Blue. You will need about 3-5 packets per scarf, depending on how dark you want the color and how big the scarf. If you have a super big scarf, you would need more dye. In a dish (I use a glass casserole dish), combine 2 Cups Vinegar with 2 Cups Hot water and the packets of Kool-Aid. I should mention that at this point you really should wear plastic gloves of some kind. The Kool-Aid will stain your hands. I'm typing this with blue fingers, lol!! Place the playsilk in the dish, swishing around to soak up the color. When you are happy with the color, wring out and then rinse in the sink with cold water- until the water runs clear. With the blue, I rinsed for a long time, it never ran clear, but it was definitely less that when I started, so I was happy. Hang to dry. It doesn't take very long for them to dry- probably less than an hour. Easy peasy :D
I order my playsilks through a cloth diaper co-op. We order the white/natural colored ones and I think they're from Sarah's Silks.

Gift Bag

A friend of mine's little girl is turning 2. Here is what I've made for her:

In addition to the bag, I made Counting Cookies, Spinning Speller, and dyed a playsilk for her. Eli is also getting Counting Cookies for Christmas and a Spinning Speller, and another dyed playsilk (he has several and loves them!).

The Counting Cookies are made from felt.

Here are directions from Counting Coconuts for the Spinning Speller
My first row letters: b, c, h, m
My second row: a, i, o, u
My third row: d, g, p, t
I colored the blocks using watercolors from an artist kit I got from Hobby Lobby- it has markers, colored pencils, crayons, watercolors, etc. in it.

Here are the directions to use Kool-Aid to dye playsilks.
I bought the silks from a cloth diapering co-op group I'm in. They are Sarah's Silks.

All together, I think I spent about $10 for everything- we did have some things, like the dowel rod for the speller and I had the fabric (some even given to me!). Buying it retail would have cost me about $50.