If you’re looking for reasonably priced Waldorf toys, how about making your own DIY Waldorf Play Silks! They aren’t hard to make and your kids will love these Waldorf rainbow play silks. So get your crafty on and make your own Waldorf toys instead of buying them!

Homemade Play Silks Make Beautiful & Inexpensive Waldorf Toys
If you’ve ever looking online for waldorf toys, you know that they are expensive! We love high quality toys a lot, but not the big price-tag that goes We all got together on a rainy spring day and worked together to craft the most beautiful play silks. These silks were used in my house for years and we still have some!

How to make your Waldorf play silks
First, you will need to source silk. Our group found a killer deal for bulk silk on-line. I highly recommend that you go in with a group to keep the cost down. We got our silk from Dharma Trading Company for a reasonable price. You’ll need to 10 yards of silk per scarf so it doesn’t take that many people to end up with a bulk order.

Once your silk arrives, cut to the right size. Again, you’ll need 1 yard of silk per scarf, so measure and cut the bolt into 1 yard pieces. Please note, we did NOT hem the edges of the silk. We just cut it and kept on going. It probably goes without saying that an adult should cut the silk, but just in case, it’s probably a good idea that young children do not do this step. 🙂

How to make the Kool-Aid Dye
- Mix 3 packets Kool-Aid with
- 2 cups hot water
- 2 cups vinegar
The color should be pretty and vibrant. Then, line up bowls of color and start soaking! You’ll want to soak the silks in the dye/vinegar mix for at least 2 minutes, but probably more like 5 minutes. You’ll want to do this on a covered table or even outside to avoid getting kool-aid dye all over the place. If your kids are little, you’ll probably want an adult to supervise.


Want to make rainbow Waldorf play silks?

Make Your Own Waldorf Play Silks ~ A Tutorial Using Kool-Aid!

Lovely DIY Waldorf Play Silks for a fraction of the cost to buy.
Materials
- 1 yard silk
- 3 packets of kool-aid
- 2 cups vinegar
- 2 cups hot water
Tools
- bowls, silk, spoon, sink, line to dry
Instructions
- Cut silk into 10 yard pieces
- Mix 3 cups vinegar with hot water to cover and soak for 10 minutes.
- Mix kool-aid, vinegar, and water well in a large bowl.
- Soak silk in the kool-aid mixture for at least 2 minutes.
- Rinse until the water runs clear.
- Hang on a line to dry.
- Wash cold at home (alone to prevent colors from bleeding on any clothing).
- Line dry.
- Enjoy!
Want more Waldorf homeschooling inspiration? Read these posts:
How to Host a Waldorf Solstice Spiral
How to Make a Waldorf Wheat Grass Basket to Welcome Spring
If you make your own DIY Waldof Play Silks or Rainbow Waldorf Play Silks, let me know how it turns out!

Basha
Sunday 23rd of January 2022
Hi, silk looks great. Im gonna try it...but just a quick question, is kool aid the punch drink in a sachet or sth else? I cant see anything called kool aid dye an uk amazon
Michelle Marine
Sunday 23rd of January 2022
Hi! Yes, it's a drink powder, not a dye. :-) Here's a link so you can see: https://www.koolaid.com/en/products/powders Good luck!
Audrey Morlock
Monday 1st of March 2021
Hi there love your group and all your great ideas you share thanks so much I have 8 grandkids and would like to make them for Easter but there is so many silk at the site I know it was 100% silk but do you know witch one thank you so much for your time
Brittany Daley
Wednesday 8th of April 2020
What kind of silk did you use?
Michelle
Thursday 9th of April 2020
100% silk. I think I linked to it in the post. :-)
Lisa M
Tuesday 10th of December 2019
I am going to try this! Quick question first- once the silks have been dyed, rinsed and dried, do they bleed if they get wet again? Thanks!
Michelle
Tuesday 10th of December 2019
Hi Lisa, After it's been dyed, rinsed, and line dried, you will want to machine wash and dry it alone to set the color. Then you should be good! :-)
Gabby
Tuesday 1st of October 2019
I’m a bit confused it takes 10 yards (as in 30 feet) of fabric to make 1 silk?! I haven’t seen any sills this size and I’m a bit confused on how the kids would be able to play with a silk that size. Please advise if I’m interpreting this correctly and give the dimensions of you finished product. Thanks!
Ymt
Sunday 24th of November 2019
Hi, I would love to try to make a rainbow color play silk for my kiddos. Which silk did you use? There are so many and I have no idea....
Michelle
Wednesday 2nd of October 2019
Yeah, 30 feet is not right! The finished silks are 3 feet long! So, It's off by a factor of 10. I will correct!