If you’re the kind of eco-crafter who enjoys crafting with natural materials, then silk is probably already on your radar. But if the last experience that you had with silk was back in the early nineties, when some dude that you knew owned a silk shirt for every day of the week and thought that he was pretty stylin’ in them (although he was not, alas), then it might be time to check silk out once again.
Because, even though silk used to have the reputation of being a pretty fussy, dry clean-only fabric, it’s actually not. Silk is a natural material, takes dye easily, is lightweight for kids and soft for sensitive skin, and can be washed in hot water and dried in the dryer.
Yes, it is still fussy to sew (although not as impossible as you may fear), but there are so many projects, both non-sewing and sewing, to try out with silk that you may be inspired to pick up that needle and thread after all, or you may find plenty to occupy you without them. Let the five projects below inspire you:
If you know kiddos who would appreciate natural, gentle, creative playthings, then check out how easy it is to dye play silks using the easily available, non-toxic, food-grade dye known as…Kool-aid!
Next >> Hand-Dyed Silk Ribbon
Whether it goes in a kid’s hair, on a scrapbook page, or into your next sewing project, silk ribbon also takes dye beautifully and makes for a versatile finished project. Check out this tutorial on dyeing silk ribbon with RIT dyes, courtesy of Kitty and Me Designs.
[The image on this page is the property of Kitty and Me Designs.]
Next >> Silk Flowers
If you have some silk with a little bit of a polyester blend (perhaps you can find one of those early nineties-era silk shirts at the thrift store!), then you can try out this silk flower tutorial, courtesy of Young Nester via Caits Creates. It’s a no-sew project, AND you get to use fire!
[The image on this page is the property of Young Nester.]
Next >> Silk-Wrapped Bangles
For another no-sew silk project that can use up the scraps from either of the previous two projects, make yourself a silk-covered bangle bracelet, courtesy of Artsy-Craftsy. For this bracelet, you could even mix in scraps of other fabrics, and easily add embellishments to match your mood.
[The image on this page is the property of Artsy/Craftsy.]
Next >> Silk Cape
If you’re new to sewing silk, you can’t go wrong by starting with a project as easy and satisfying as this silk cape tutorial from Our Little Nature Nest. For bonus points, start with a Kool-aid dyed play silk!
[The image on this page is the property of Our Little Nature Nest.]
This website was… how do I say it? Relevant!!
Finally I’ve found something that helped me. Kudos!