Dyeing Silk Hankies

I enjoyed spinning silk hankies so much that I had to give dyeing them a chance. This was my first time ever dyeing silk, and I wanted to make sure to do it properly. I had read that if you heat silk too much it will lose its luster, so for the first time I did my dyeing in the oven where I could have more control over the temperature.

While I was filming this video, I worked on dyeing a second batch of silk. This batch contained 1 ⅛ oz (31 g) of silk. I presoaked until translucent, and added 60 drops blue, 4 drops green. I let the silk sit in the dye for a while before placing it in the oven at 175 F (120 C).

I was hoping to achieve a blue deep enough to go well with the other silk hankies I had spun. Although the water ran clear, there is still not quite the depth of color I was hoping for. I have two choices. I can just use this silk as is once it has been spun (and purchase some more of the hanks in the hood fiber), or I can over dye it after it has been spun until I have reached a color saturation that I am happy with. Either way, I know that I am in for a lot of fun!

I am very tempted to leave this color the way it is. There is such a depth to the blues once I have started spinning it (form the variation of shade plus the luster of silk) that the yarn is very inviting.