Silk Scarf Dyeing Using Colorhue Dyes

After being charged with creating the silk pocket squares for The Wedding, I did a bit of digging around for the easiest  way to do this. I ordered ColorHues dyes and silk pocket squares from Dharma Trading but very little instruction was offered up on using the ColorHues.

Along came Juliann of The Sick Chick here. She also has color mixing tutes here and here. Really great information. About the ColorHues dyes: These are instant set, non-toxic dyes for silk (or other protein fibers). No heat, no boiling, no long set times. They aren't the cheapest option but they are the easiest. These would be great for a group or kids. Good summer fun.

After dyeing the pocket squares, I decided to see what I could do with a silk scarf, also from Dharma. So let's make a groovy scarf! 

I used the pumpkin, rose, goldenrod, yellow, green and turquoise dyes, mixed up in small plastic cups and used pipettes to "paint." Lay some plastic down on your work surface and have a wiping rag (another piece of silk?) at the ready.

You may want to ease up on the colors. Mine definitely looks like Gerry Garcia was here.

This was super easy. I wet and squeeze the excess water out of the scarf. Squeeze it really hard because excess water will dilute the colors. 

Take the scarf and fold it in half. Now twist it around really good and secure it with rubber bands every few inches. Simple tie dye. 

Using the pipettes, move along the scarf and squeeze color onto every section. Take your time and be mindful that you will get browns and grays if you mix rose and green in the same area. I don't mind this as I like muddy color in some areas. 

 

Your Freak Flag

Keep flipping the scarf around until everything is colored. The rubber bands will act as resist, as will the creases, giving you some white areas and distressed color. 

 

After everything has been saturated, squeeze the roll and massage gently for a couple of minutes. Dunk the roll into clear water and squeeze to discharge any unabsorbed dye. 

Now you can remove the rubber bands and unfold your creation. Hang to dry and let your freak flag fly!  

PS: I will be starting a new class called Taming the Critic in a couple of weeks. This is a reformated version of last years 21 Secrets class. Soon after that, I'll start the "very beginner" art journal class. So stay tuned. 

Comments

[Barb]

The silk scarf dying looks fantastic. Can't wait for the "very beginner" art journal class. Regardless of any skills that one has, you can always learn new ones.
Barb
NC

[Diana Trout]

Check in with the Taming the Critic class, Barb. I will be doing this one first and then get the Very Beginner class up. I agree that sometimes the smallest bit of inspiration is sometimes great. I'm really enjoying the 21 Secrets classes this year. I've been around the block a few times so nothing in there is totally new to me but I've had several "Oh, yeah!" moments when something old is presented in new form.

[Aloquin]

Diana, as I'm sitting here typing, I have a bag of... what is this? Oh, Munchies. A mix of pretzels and some other chips, and, needless to say, my daughter is all up in my space (lol) trying to garner some chips from Mommy! Loving this :) I hope she'll always want to be around me, you know?

I am definitely interested in your beginner class, as well as the taming the critic class. Again, price is a factor, but I should be ok. Do you do them on ning, as well? I have really only joined 3 workshops on 21 Secrets so far, and my mailbox is already chock full of tons of messages. So I can't get overrun as I don't have a ton of free time, either, but as long as I'm careful, I should be fine.

Can't wait, really!

[Diana Trout]

The nice thing about my classes is that you can dip in and out at will. There isn't a deadline and they are permanently accessible. Good luck with it, Jen. I hope you'll enjoy it.

[Lynda]

I love with you've done with the color hue dyes. I have used them once last year and loved my results but haven't touched them since. Thanks for the reminder and a little push!