Dippity Doo Dye

 

This was a dyeing experiment.  It's not perfect, but I still like it.

 

I was inspired by Carolyn's red velveteen skirt.  Of course I thought the dip dyeing was cool, but what I really liked was that she over-dyed her skirt.  Over-dyeing is so unusual and unpredictable.  I like the muddy, earthy colors that are created.  I've done a fair bit of dyeing lately.  Mostly on things from my closet that were not worn for various reasons.  It's a nice way to change an unloved garment in to something wearable.  But this is the first time I sewed a garment solely for the purpose of dyeing it.

Here it is before dyeing.

 

It looks radioactive, doesn't it?  It is the brightest lime green I've ever seen without being fluorescent.  This was a case of colors may not be accurate on your computer monitor.  I ordered it online last summer and was shocked when it arrived.  It's nice quality stuff- a heavy but soft linen.  But I couldn't think of any item of clothing I wanted in electric lime green.

Enter Carolyn's skirt.  I instantly thought of this electric linen when I read her post.  I knew if I over-dyed it I would end up with an earthy, much more pleasant color.  But I was still surprised with how it turned out.

Here is my hillbilly dip dye set up.

This is my best impression of MacGyver.  I tied the hem of the dress to a hanger and then tied the hanger to a rope.  You can't see in the photo, but I strung the rope up through the handles on the cabinets above my slop sink.  Then I pulled on the rope to dip the dress in to the dye bath to get the ombre effect.  It was much easier than wearing out my arms.  I used Rit dye, navy blue.  Speaking of Rit dye, have you seen their color formula guide on their website?  Pretty neat.  After I dipped for a while, I let just the bodice sit in the dye bath for about thirty minutes.

Unfortunately, it didn't exactly work.  You can see my dress is pretty splotchy, though the splotches are subtle.  I think the problem was that my bucket was not big enough.  The dress didn't have enough room to move around freely in and the dye did not settle in evenly where there was a lot of gathering.

 

So it looks a little bit homemade (or home-dyed).  But I still think it's cool.  I love the dull greenish black.  Not what I was expecting, but then you never really know what to expect when over-dyeing.  That and the fact that it's made out linen gives it a distressed sort of look.  I'll never iron it, by the way.  I like the way it looks wrinkly.  Maybe I'll try dyeing it again to get rid of some of those splotches.

I used Simplicity 1801, a Cynthia Rowley pattern.  I skipped the facings and bound the neckline and sleeve edges with bias.  I closed the neckline up quite a bit higher.  It's one of those so low you can see your belly button v-necks.  I also nipped and tucked the bodice/midriff at the side seams and the center front seam.  Beware that there is a lot of ease in this pattern. 
I'd love to make the version with sleeves at a later date.

 

The gathering at the belly isn't too unflattering, is it?

I feel like I should be at some sort of outdoor festival in this dress.  Which is why I ventured down in to the yard for pictures. I needed some greenery.  I have no idea what sort of plants are in this photo.  The previous homeowner was a landscaper and every spring all sorts of things pop up in our backyard.  It's kind of fun to see what's out there.

  

What about you?  Have you ever dip dyed anything?  Any methods for successful dip dyeing? Does this look too homemade to wear out and about?