Sarah’s Silks offers such a variety of open-ended toys— which toy is the best fit for the kiddo you have in mind? Over the past couple years, I’ve used the following Sarah’s Silks toys with 20 kids in total (ranging from babies, toddlers, and big kids) during countless babysitting gigs. Kids use playsilks in a number of creative ways, but let's take a closer look at how they engage with various types of Sarah's Silks toys.
Sarah’s Silks Toys Preferred by Kids
✨ Giant Playsilks: Most engaging for long play sessions
✅ Best For: Independent play; cooperative play
✨Playclips: Most Essential
✅ Best For: Fine motor skills; fort building
✨ Classic Playsilks: Most versatile (played with most creatively)
✅ Best For: Baby play
✨Silk Capes: Most Imaginative
✅ Best For: Dramatic Play
✨Balloon Ball Covers: Most fun across age groups
✅ Best For: Active play
✨Playmaps: Played with Least Frequently
✅ Best For: Pretend play
✨ Giant Playsilks
Price | $15- $25
Best For | Baby play; dramatic play
Most Popular with Kids | Rainbow playsilk; star playsilk
Giant Playsilks are a must-have for epic fort-building. While you probably grew up draping blankets and sheets over your childhood forts— giant playsilks bring a completely fresh dynamic to fort-building. Many of the giant silks feature a beautiful ombré blend of colors that simply leave kiddos in awe. Each silk also has a subtle hint of transparency, yet still allows kids to feel a sense of privacy as they play independently in their forts. Kids adore this paradox and literally laugh out loud about it!
Giant playsilks have been my most popular and most frequently used toy amongst the kids I work with between ages 2-8. These particular play scarves are also amongst the most multi-purposed toys in my collection.
How kiddos incorporate playsilks into their builds varies depending on the setting of their playspace and materials at our disposal (toys they own or materials we find around the house, like large cardboard boxes).
Some kids use standard dining room chairs to hang the scarves from. Sometimes kids ask for help putting together a fort kit, then drape playsilks over the structure. Other times, kids upgrade their cardboard boxes with silk doors or turn their play couches into clubhouses featuring skylights made of patterned silks! As you can see, there are countless ways to use giant playsilks, which is why kids can spend so much time playing independently while using them!
Teaches:
Creativity; imaginative thinking; problem solving
Developmental Benefits:
Fine motor skills
✨ Playclips
Price | $8- $28
Best For | Fort building; strengthening fine motor skills
Most Popular with Kids | Tall playclips
Now, you might be thinking, how do kids make the playsilks stay in place when they’re building a fort? In order to keep playsilks in place- and bring fort building to the next level- you’ll also need handy dandy playclips!
Playclips are kind of like giant clothespins minus the metal. However, these clips are handcrafted from maple wood and bound together by an extra thick (and extra durable) white elastic band, which allows the clip to contract open and close.
I have the older version of the tall playclips that were 4.5 inches in height. Towards the bottom of the playclips are two notches on both sides, where elastic bands were placed to support kids in retaining their grasp.
In the current edition of the playclips, the size has been reduced by an inch to 3.5 inches. According to their website, this change was made to better accommodate the small size of kids’ hands. It looks like the size reduction has made it unnecessary for the playclips to include additional grip bands. (Hey, less pieces, less problems)
Around the age of 2 ½, kids have developed the muscle strength to use the 4.5 in playclips with total ease. Kiddos younger than 2 ½ tend not to have the hand strength quite yet.
I’m excited to order a set of the newer 3.5” playclips and try them out with younger twos— my guess is after a few tries, they’ll be able to confidently attach them to the playsilks.
After 2 years of bringing playclips to various houses, I’m happy to report that none of the kids have managed to break the elastics.
Teaches:
Creativity; problem solving; patience
Developmental Benefits:
Fine motor skills
✨ Classic Playsilks
Price | $18- $22
Best For | Baby play; dramatic play
Most Popular with Kids | Rainbow playsilk; star playsilk
Classic playsilks are 35 x 35 inches which happens to be around the size of many baby play mats. It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to hear that classic playsilks effortlessly complement baby play! These silks are perfect for fans of the blue and green ombré play scarf that comes in the Lovevery explorer play kit.
Toddlers and big kids use these to drape over “doorway entrances” of their forts or cardboard box doors. Grownups can even loosely tie a standard playsilk around a kid’s body to create a makeshift cape, skirt, or dress. By far the classiest use is when kids decide to turn one into an elegant tablecloth spread!
Teaches:
Object permanence; creativity
Developmental Benefits:
Fine motor skills
✨ Silk Capes
Price | $24- $34
Best For | Dramatic play; dress-up
Most Popular with Kids | Rainbow silk cape
I’m sure you’ve seen or own typical kid’s capes— ya know, where the black ones are for Batman, red ones for Spiderman, etc. Similar to the design of the playsilks, Sarah’s Silks capes are simply covered in beautiful patterns or ombré colors. But the true magic of these capes is the fact that they do not resemble mainstream superhero characters.
The simple design allows kids to expand their imaginations beyond the media. Instead of always pretending to be their favorite superhero character, kids are encouraged to create their own version of a superhero.
Unless your little one is a buttoning pro, most kids under 4 will require assistance in putting the cape on and taking it off. The button itself and the hole for the button are quite tiny which makes it tricky for kids. Over time and with practice, children under four can learn to fasten and unfasten the button without help. But I do wish the company would make a velcro version of the capes.
Note: Silk capes are made of heavyweight (8 momme) mulberry silk. This silk feels slightly less “silky” than the playsilks, which are lightweight silk (5 momme). Still worth the purchase though!
Teaches:
Creativity, imagination
Developmental Benefits:
Fine motor skills (buttoning); gross motor skills
✨ Balloon Ball Covers
Price | $16
Best For | Mixed age group play; active play
Most Popular with Kids | Rainbow balloon cover
Sarah’s Silks balloon covers are a toy accessory you never knew you needed. For some bizarre reason, letting an air balloon hit the ground feels like you’d be committing a mortal sin. Rather you’re 2 or 60, stretching a ligament an extra few feet is practically a reflex.
While the company recommends the balloon covers for ages 3 and up, I’ve actually found them ideal for ages 1 and up. You can introduce these to kids as soon as they can walk comfortably. While typical balloon play can make adults nervous with little ones, balloon covers allow you to tuck the knot of the balloon inside of the cover and out of a little one’s sight. It’s common for 1 ½ year olds to mouth or even try biting the balloon ball. But, they only end up mouthing the fabric versus the balloon. Basically, the cover puts a much safer barrier between a latex balloon and a kiddo’s mouth. (Supervision is still required at all times with this age)
Balloon covers are also a fun way to keep tabies (babies/toddlers) and big kids active, especially for families without the space or budget for pikler triangles or large play equipment.
Since everyone already loves a game of Keepy Uppy (balloon ball), why not double the fun by using these majestic balloon covers?! You can find the covers both in the rainbow pattern pictured above, as well as in a star pattern resembling the popular star playsilk.
Note: Balloon covers are essential for Bluey fans wholly convinced that balloons pop when they touch grass.
Teaches:
Problem solving, upcycling
Developmental Benefits:
Gross motor skills; eye-hand coordination
✨ Playmaps
Price | $14- $22
Best For | Pretend play
Most Popular with Kids | Rainbowland playmap
Sarah’s Silks playmaps are so cool to look at, they’re very hard not to impulse buy. Kids adore these playmaps when they’re brand new. However, I store all my playsilks in a drawstring bag (for easy travel from house to house). After a few weeks my playmaps accumulate so many wrinkles. Kids are not interested in straightening them out to view the maps— I’m also uninterested in ironing them, knowing that they’re going to get re-squished shortly after.
With that said, as long as kids have a way of keeping their playmaps wrinkle free, these can be a lot of fun for pretend play! Grab action figures, animals, little people, even Barbie could have an adventure on a themed playmap.
Depending on the season and time of the year, sometimes the company makes playmaps that connect through bridges or pathways!
Teaches:
Problem solving; imagination
Developmental Benefits:
Storytelling; language development
As we wrap up our look at Sarah's Silks, it's clear these toys go beyond ordinary fun— they're gateways to a kid's world of imaginative play. From fort-building to dress-up, each silk or accessory brings a touch of magic to everyday play, encouraging kids to create and explore. All of these toys will make simple, yet powerful, additions to playtime. Before you head over to add one to your cart, find solace in knowing that you're not just buying a toy, but an adventure for a little one!
FAQ About Sarah's Silks Toys
How Do You Use a Balloon Cover?
Set up is simple. Each Sarah’s Silks balloon cover comes with a balloon. Find the hole on the balloon cover. Insert the balloon inside of the balloon cover, allowing the neck or opening of the balloon to stick out. Blow up the balloon like normal. As you blow into the balloon, the balloon cover will begin to expand over the balloon. Stop blowing when the fabric of the cover is stretched out sufficiently. Next, time off the neck of the balloon and tuck the knot inside the cover, so little ones don’t pick at it. And voila, your balloon is all dressed up for a fancy game of balloon ball.
Where Can You Buy Rubber Band Replacements for Playclips?