Dyeing Golden Playsilks for Michaelmas

By Sarah, founder of Sarah’s Silks

Michaelmas is a festival of light, courage, and colour — a time when many families mark the change of season with stories, songs, and crafts. One beautiful way to celebrate is by dyeing your own playsilks in radiant golden hues. This activity brings children into the heart of the festival: working with their hands, watching colours transform, and creating something they can play with, dress up in, or use on the nature table.

Silk is a wonderful fibre for this project. Unlike cotton, which requires harsh mordants for colour to adhere, silk soaks up dye quickly and beautifully. That means children can be part of the whole process — stirring, squeezing, rinsing — and see the results almost instantly.

Why try this craft?

• Hands-on learning: children experience cause and effect as white silk transforms in colour.

• Connection to tradition: golden silks echo the light of Michaelmas and the warmth of autumn.

• Simple materials: you can use food colouring, a dye kit, or even plant-based dyes from your garden.

• Joyful mess: it won’t go perfectly — and that’s the magic! Children delight in the splashes, bubbles, and textures as much as the finished silk.
  

Materials you’ll need

• 1 white playsilk (any plain silk square will work)

• Warm water

• A large bowl or tub

• Food colouring or natural dye (such as marigold, dandelion, coreopsis, or goldenrod)

• White vinegar (acts as a natural mordant when using plant dyes)

• Wooden spoon for stirring

• Gentle soap (optional, for rinsing)

Instructions

1. Prepare the dye bath

   • For food colouring: mix a few drops into warm water until you reach your desired shade.

   • For plant dyes: simmer flowers or roots, then strain into a bowl. Add 1 part vinegar to 6 parts water.

2. Soak the silk
   Place the white silk into the dye bath. Let children stir with a wooden spoon or squeeze the fabric in their hands. The silk will begin absorbing colour straight away.

3. Check the colour
   The longer the silk sits in the bath, the deeper the colour will become. Encourage children to decide when it feels “ready.”

4. Rinse & wash
   Rinse the silk in lukewarm water until it runs clear. A few bubbles of natural soap can help remove extra dye.

5. Dry & finish
   Wring out gently and hang to dry. Watching the silk flutter on a clothesline is part of the joy. Once dry, you can iron it smooth and shiny if you like.