I used these Syn Tint dyes from http://www.bearycheap.com/ as they were the only dyes I have left. They were developed to dye synthetics but I thought I'd give them a try on silk. They did the job beautifully! I wound the ribbon into big loops and then I wet the ribbon thoroughly with a water spray. In a dinner plate I mixed the dye powder with a little water. I used several different colours at once. I then laid the ribbon into the dye making sure that it was thoroughly saturated. As each colour bleeds into the wet silk it blends to create yet more colours.
I then covered with cling film and popped in the microwave for 40 seconds. When it came out I gave it a quick rinse in cold water and dabbed most of the moisture out with a towel. It's as simple as that! I had such fun experimenting. If you sprinkle the dye powder on the wet ribbon it gives a spotty star burst effect or if you dip the wet ribbon into one colour only and then rinse half of it before microwaving, it gives varying shades of the same colour.
If you look closely you can see the subtle colour variations within each ribbon length.
And after ironing and winding onto bobbins, here is the finished result. Of course these night time photos don't do the subtle colours justice, but you'll just have to trust me on that!
