Jenny La Fleur

So what do you do when you order a fabric online and it’s not quite the color you wanted? Make it the color you want! At least that is what I did with the fabric for my Summer Bustle dress.

As always, my budget was very limited for this project so when I found yellow cotton lawn for a great price I took the gamble and ordered it. I was hoping for a buttery, sunny yellow. What I got was more of an egg yolk yellow, darker and slightly orangey. Um no. So I started experimenting.


I tried Rit color remover, which did remove some color but nowhere near what I was looking for. So I followed some links from a post on the Elegant Musing’s blog. First I visited The Cupcake Goddesswhich lead me to Wisecraft. Yes, yes, I know bleaching is harsh on fabrics, breaking down the actual fibers. But this is a costume, it’s not like I’m going to wear it more than 3 times a year if that. So I tried bleach was thrilled with the results.


Today I finally got around to bleaching my full 7yds of fabric. First I got the fabric thoroughly wet before I put it in the bleach solution (put it through a rinse cycle of the washing machine). For the bleaching I used a ratio of ½ cup bleach to 1 quart water (48 quarts = 24 cups bleach). My test piece was in the solution for 30 minutes but I thought I wanted my fabric a tad paler so I left it in for 40 minutes . I stirred pretty constantly, not to vigoriously, just keeping the fabric moving, and when my time was up I drained the tub sink and transferred the fabric to a bathroom sink filled with white vinegar (thank goodness for Costco sized bottles!).

**A word for the wise – don’t do the vinegar rinse the way I did! There was definitely a chemical reaction, which unfortunately I breathed in. I’m fine but it was very uncomfortable and my throat is still a little irritated! My suggestion would be to rinse the fabric a bit in water first and fill a bucket or something with the vinegar and do the rinse outdoors (a well-ventilated room wasn’t good enough). A mask might not be a bad idea too. **

I then threw the fabric in the washer for a rinse cycle and another vinegar rinse before tossing it in the dryer to finish the job.


The color came out paler than I intended – opps! It’s pretty and I think I can live with it but I’m a bit disappointed. Repeat after me, this is why we test! Silly Jenny. I’m going to let it sit for a couple of days to ponder if I’m still unhappy maybe I’ll see what a little yellow fabric dye can do for it… my poor cotton lawn, so abused!

***Attention fabric dye goddesses***

I've decided I don't want another 1780s cream jacket ensemble so I want to dye the cream petticoat I just made and leftover fabric a robin's egg blue (to match some jewelry I have). Am I really stupid to not disassemble the skirt (taking the waistband off) before I throw it in a dye bath? I don't want to have to redo all the pleats if I don't have to but then again I want it to dye evenly. Opinions?

Also what combination of colors should I use, a light blue with a bit of yellow based green yes? I think that is right...

Thanks!

I got the extra dye yesterday and proceed to dye the silk this morning. It was typical of the experience so far. I forgot the salt, went to the store, came home but forgot to change back into my dying clothes and got a spot of dye on my favorite jeans. *grinds teeth* While stirring the silk in the dye bath, about 20 minutes into the process, the sink plug came out and the dye bath drained most of the way out. I managed to save about a third of it and, for the sake of keeping the fabric submerged, added a bit of fresh water.

All this for what? The silk wasn't really any darker. I think it has taken as much Dylon dye as it will take. Maah! The sewing fates can be so cruel!

( options & such )

I am so glad Bridget’s costume is not being this complicated! *sigh*

Well the second time in the dye bath didn't do anything. Zip. Well, it was worth a shot. I'm officially renouncing that "wash between" theory. I'm back to my "the key is a highly concentrated dye bath" theory. I've rinsed the fabric and hung it up to dry. I'll re-evaluate it in the morning.

I suspect I won't like it and then I will have to decide if I want to attempt another dye session or if I can live with it as is. I'm going to take a few days off this project regardless, maybe a week. I don't want to make any major decisions until I can get some perspective. I'm predicting that will take at least two days (if not more) and some chocolate. Maybe some gummy bears too...

Checked the silk and it was still too light nor did the color compliment the velvet. The truly discouraging news is that the second dye bath (with three precious PM dye packets) didn't turn the silk that much darker. My "pretty good mood" is evaporating away quickly. I'm not ready to give up in an hysteric fit yet though.


I washed the silk in ivory snow. I didn’t get much color in the wash water so that is a good sign. It means the color is there to stay and I rinsed it well enough yesterday. I combined the silk with the remaining 4 packets of dye. If that isn't dark enough I'll have to make another trip to PM or wait for my Jo-Anns to get more dye in. It's my dumb luck that I stumbled upon the perfect color during my test so I know it can be done. I'm assuming that dyeing over and over again will work. It better.

…checking silk…

It looks a bit darker but not much. It’s only been in for 15 minutes though. I think I’m just going to leave it there for a few hours. I really don’t want to have to buy more dye if I can help it.

Oh yeah, and I think I may be getting sick too. My sore throat of yesterday feels like it's turning into another sinus head cold. I so do not need to be sick right now! Hopefully it’s just a sore throat and some sinus issues. I get those a lot (plus migraines) in the damp, changeable weather we have been having lately. Fun, fun!

I decided not to tempt the sewing fates and pre-washed my fabric with some Ivory Snow. I tested a piece first and the washed silk actually came out softer. Cool!

After rinsing the silk twice (I was soaking wet!) I began the dying process. Once I had put everything in and stirred the silk around for 10 minutes it was very obvious that it wasn’t going to be dark enough. It was turning a light minty green. Blah.

In a bit of a panic, I threw in the rest of the dye (according to the weight I only needed a little over two packs and I had 3½) and tons of salt. I read somewhere that the mordant (in this case salt) makes the color more vibrate. That could only help right? The fabric looked better after that, a little lighter than my test but do-able. Until I dried a test piece with my blow dryer. A lovely celery green - way too light. Double blah.

I had cleaned out my local Jo-Ann’s on Sunday so I made the trek to the Jo-Ann’s in Potomac Mills. I managed to miss the traffic and was there in 25mins – a pretty unheard of feat as there is ALWAYS traffic on I 95. God is so good! Walked into Jo-Ann’s and bought 7 packets of dye. I better be able to return some! While I was in PM, I stopped in G Street and bought some twill tape. Yep that's it, aren’t I a good girl?!

I got 1” cotton twill tape for the bottom of the Eowyn hem, to protect the velvet. Theory is when the twill tape gets destroyed (instead of my fabric) from dragging the skirt all over the Ren Faire I can simply replace it. That technique was used on one of the vintage dresses we have and it seemed a smart idea. The vintage dress used cotton velvet ribbon but twill tape is waaayyy cheaper so that is all my dress is getting. I’ll dye it to match the silk.

I got home, got all ready to re-dye the silk and discovered that I was out of salt. Triple blah. Went to the grocery store and got more salt, then came home and put the silk into the new batch of dye (3 packets this time). Looks good so far, perhaps a slight bit lighter than the test but I’m going to rinse and let it dry before deciding if it needs another dye bath.

I have to go out tonight so it would have to wait until tomorrow anyway. I am so tired! I get to help Mom costume an Easter play. Another one of those last minute, thrown together productions where we are the only ones who seem to care about getting the costuming right. I don’t know how she talks me into these things!