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.