Kool-Aid Scarves

I've been poking around, looking at crafty ideas at various blogs and websites.  I've stumbled across this idea at a number of sites and I finally tried it and am very happy with the results.  I have wanted to buy A some silk scarves to play with, but they are 8 or 9 dollars each.  Instead, I made a bunch for about $30!

Get some plain white silk scarves.  I recommend the 30x30 habotai scarves at Dharma Trading Company. 

Buy Kool-Aid.  I used 4 packs for each color as follows:
Fruit Punch= Red
Grape= Purple
Orange= Orange
Lemon Lime= Green  (I added some food coloring for a little extra Pop of color)
Lemonade= Yellow (Food color for extra Pop!)
Ice Blue Lemonade= Blue (Food color for Electric blue)
(Be warned- the Ice Blue Lemonade and Fruit Punch both have blue packets and look VERY similar)

You will also need some plain vinegar and some stainless steel pots or aluminum roasting pans or both.  The color washes right out of them.

In a big bowl or clean bucket, soak the silk scarves in some hot, hot water and vinegar.  Try 4 cups hot hot water and 1-2 cups of vinegar.  (It doesn't have to be exact.)

In the meantime, mix up your colors.  Two cups of hot hot water mixed in with 4 packs of Kool Aid (plus food color) did it for me.  Mix thoroughly.

Then squeeze out the scarves and toss them into the colors, making sure the whole scarf gets soaked with color.

Leave them in there for about 15 minutes, stirring them and flipping them around every once in a while.   (The color in the pan gets a little cloudy as it is absorbed into the scarf.)  You can also tie-dye them!

Then, rinse it out in cold water until it comes clear.  (I couldn’t get mine to come completely clear and I’m not terribly worried about it, but maybe you will have better luck.)  The best way to do it is to rinse out one of the pans and use your hand to agitate the scarf in the running water like a washing machine.

Here they are, ready to be hung up and dried.

When you unbunch them and hang them up to dry, you may have a marbled effect, which I think adds to the coolness of the scarf.  However, if you prefer to skip out on the marbled effect, then I recommend putting the Kool Aid dye into deep trays or pans where you can dye the scarf folded and flat.  I can't promise it will work though, as I haven't tried it.


Once you are all done, here is what you get for your efforts!

I have to say that the Purple is probably my favorite because it is such a deep color, but I also love the vibrancy of the yellow, green, red, and blue.  I was disappointed with the orange, which came out almost peach, but I imagine a little food color would help the next time.

Oh yes, there will be a next time.  You see, we are currently working on a tree-house and I think an extra large tye-dyed scarf would look pretty awesome up there.  Am I right? 

Irish