February Dye Day for Silk Scarf Blanks

It has been such a mild winter this year; it feels like it's been spring since January!  So Mum and I decided to have an early dye day.  We have such fun dyeing silk warps that we decided to do try silk scarf blanks. 

To get started we soaked the twelve silk blanks in soda ash for an hour.  Then we decided on the colours of Procion MX that we wanted to use and mixed up the colours.  The colours were Crimson, Fuchsia, Royal Blue, Green, Yellow, Purple, Grey and Turquoise. 

To dye the blanks we placed a long piece of plastic wrap down enough to double over the scarf.  Because the scarves are so thin we were able to keep the scarves folded in half which makes matching the ends a lot easier!  

We didn't try for perfection, we let the dye move/run were it wanted to go. There were bubbles of air caught between the layers which added to the interest of the scarves.

We tried different techniques like using plastic spoons to drop colour on to the scarves.

We also used sponge brushes to cover large areas of the scarves, or to give large splashes of colour.

We had to wait 24 hours to allow the dye to set, then it was time to wash the dye out. The scarves took a small amount of dye so it took only a couple of rinses for the scarves to be ready.

Mum and I each did a scarf using the yellow colour and it is so eye searingly bright that we want to over dye it!

 

Here are the beauty shots of the scarfs that we still have, two have already found new homes and two are being re-imagined!

Sky blue middle with new leaf green ends.  For Sale.

A stunning blue and purple marbled scarf.  For Sale.

Pink and orange.  For Sale.

A striking purple scarf that looks like a nebula.  For Sale.

Grey and pink.  For Sale.

Pink, blue and grey polka dots.  For Sale.

Fuchsia and purple scarf looks like the flower fuchsia. For Sale.

Turquoise centre with blue ends.  For Sale.