Silks, Beautiful Silks!

My silk samples are finally finished! This is what I have been pouring all of my time and energy into as of late. As some of my readers may know, I am hoping to make a little extra cash by offering hand-dyed playsilks - 30x30 inch silk scarves with hand-rolled hems, perfect for little hands to use as a superhero's cape, a cowboy's bandanna, a princess' skirt. The only limit is the imagination!

The silks will be available individually, in pre-selected sets of three or six, or in custom batches to suit your individual desires. You can choose from these themed sets below, or contact me for a custom order, choosing colours from the entire palette. Please note that as the silks are hand-dyed, some variations in colour on the silk are natural, and beyond my control. Each silk is unique!

The details: 30x30" 100% habotai silk scarves with hand-rolled hems, dyed in small lots to ensure vivid colours. All dyes are non-toxic, and silks are washed before shipping to remove as much excess dye as possible. Contact me at smathie (at) gmail (dot) com for pricing, shipping information, and any other information.

Here are the sets available:


Rainbow Fun: Very Cherry, Orange Peel, Lemon Drop, Emerald Isle, True Blue, Wild Grape



Autumn Breeze: Chocolate Kiss, Antique Ruby, Pumpkin Pie



Night Sky: Stroke of Midnight, Wild Grape, Sapphire Springs



Land & Sea: Chocolate Kiss, Emerald Isle, Robins Egg



Ice Cream Sundae: Chocolate Kiss, Tickled Pink, Fresh Cream



Easter Egg: Tickled Pink, Robins Egg, Key Lime



Pretty as a Princess: Wild Grape, Tickled Pink, Fresh Cream



Ocean View: Emerald Isle, Robins Egg, Sapphire Springs



Morning Glory: Desert Sunrise, Orange Peel, Lemon Drop



SuperKid!: Very Cherry, Lemon Drop, True Blue


The whole palette (counter-clockwise from top left): Fresh Cream, Tickled Pink, Desert Sunrise, Very Cherry, Antique Ruby, Orange Peel, Pumpkin Pie, Lemon Drop, Key Lime, Emerald Isle, Robins Egg, True Blue, Sapphire Springs, Wild Grapes, Chocolate Kiss, Stroke of Midnight.

Couldn't you just DYE? (also, where have I been?!)

It's been a long, long time since I've looked at this crafty blog. Too long, in fact. Where have I been? I've been around, still crafting a little but not so much desiring to blog about it. To make a long story short, my maternity leave ran out in June, so I found a dayhome for my daughter and I am back to the Monday-to-Friday grind. I love my job, but it has left me with far less time to craft, much less take, process, and post pictures, then write up a little blurb to go with it. Now if only someone would actually pay me good money for this crafty crap I do...

My latest project was inspired by Eliza's halloween costume. She was a monarch butterfly, but Fabricland's pathetic choice of tulle colours (no orange? seriously?) left me with only one choice: dye my own. (Her costume is going to be the subject of a future blog post, I promise!) Custom dyeing was a challenge that I actually really enjoyed, so I decided to take on a bigger project.

These are playsilks. Some of you may be familiar with them, but for those who are not, they are little more than a square habotai silk scarf. They are meant to encourage creative pretend play in children - a playsilk can be a doll blanket, a cape, a tablecloth, a hammock, or just something to swing around like crazy. Eliza is just getting to the age where she'd really be into these kinds of things, too. I'd seen them all over etsy and various other stores for obscene prices and thought "I can do that!", and after the tulle incident, I really believed that I could! I found a supplier that shipped to Canada, ordered all I needed, and this was the result:


I used Jacquard acid dyes, which are pretty simple to use, but a little finicky. And let me tell you now - when the instructions say that vinegar is necessary, they mean it! I had to re-dye two of these batches because all the dye washed out in the post-dye-washing. Bah.

Now, can I really hold off 'til Christmas to give these to her?