Thread: Dying fabric (a dress)?

I want to dye my wedding dress because it's simple enough to be a formal gown if in a color. I'd love to be able to have the affect of darker at the bottom, then fading up. I guess that the issue of different fabrics will be important too? Any ideas / advice? It's ivory and I'd love to dye it turquoise or royal purple...

First you have to determine the type fabric you have. Some fabrics take dyes well, others become muddy and there are some that will not dye. Jes/A'kia Silks posted she wanted to dye her wedding dress but determined the fabric was not good for dyeing.

If you do not have a fabric content label contact the manufacturer and give them the style number. They should be able to locate the fabric content records for you. Some fabrics have to go through a high temp heat process to accept dye. That causes many fabrics to shrink. The manufacturer should be able to obtain that info as well.

If you dye it we would love to see before and after pictures.

Everything txchic said, plus:

Is there a care label on the dress? Does it say "dry clean only"? If the dress can't be immersed in water, you might want to stop now, because you probably can't dye it at home.

Also... ombre dye processes are pretty difficult, especially the first time. They are fairly time consuming and can be messy. You may wish to read this:

Ombré Instructions

and this:

Ombre/dip-dye - how would YOU do it? | community of dyers

If you are not somewhat familiar with dyeing techniques I suggest taking the dress to a profession and talk with them about your concept. They would be able to give you an estimate and an experienced opinion. The dress is obviously special, it would be worth the extra funds to insure the dress was not ruined.

yup second third and fourth what they said. I'd cringe at working with something with as much fabric as a wedding dress. Give me a rope to hang myself now. Ah some expert out there could do it without a problem but would probably (and rightfully ) charge a lot to do it. Dyeing is a pain in the arts. (dont ever offer to dye something for someone for free..it's work!)

i wonder which wedding dress it was that i said something about dyeing..my first one was made by my then mother in law. bless her heart i looked like i was going to prom. she took the dress back after the wedding and i havent seen it since. my ex husband just recently got married again, maybe she got my ring and the dress? hahahaaa
but i digress..

my second and hopefully last wedding dress no i wont ever touch it, it's an ivory white and it was every bit of backless butt hugging vavoom that my first dress would have been had i been in charge of picking it. it's zipped safely in the closet. i doubt the implants will fit in it now (or my waist for that matter) but i wont sell or dye it. that sucker was 800 bucks. the rest of the wedding only cost about 200. i think my ring was 20. lol

oh look at that gawdawful ombre dyeing from dharma. ring around the collar anyone.

someday i might be forced to, at gunpoint, sell my secrets of ombre dyeing but it still feeds us ..l;,

And I thought I was the only one that cringed! Dharma means well though, so we'll let it pass.

The only real secret to ombré is that it shouldn't be the first thing you decide you're going to make when you just start dyeing. In general, if you have to ask the question in the first place, you're not ready, certainly not for something as involved as a gown. Nobody's going to cry at a poorly dyed t-shirt, but a wedding dress is a terrible thing to waste.

We still don't know what kind of fabrics might be involved, or how heavily constructed the gown is either, so this whole conversation might be moot.

Originally Posted by shibori-borealis

And I thought I was the only one that cringed! Dharma means well though, so we'll let it pass.

The only real secret to ombré is that it shouldn't be the first thing you decide you're going to make when you just start dyeing. In general, if you have to ask the question in the first place, you're not ready, certainly not for something as involved as a gown. Nobody's going to cry at a poorly dyed t-shirt, but a wedding dress is a terrible thing to waste.

We still don't know what kind of fabrics might be involved, or how heavily constructed the gown is either, so this whole conversation might be moot.

can you please make me an elaborate shibori style veil but i'm on a budget so is 20dollars ok? and i need by tonight? (private joke)

Originally Posted by jesennia

can you please make me an elaborate shibori style veil but i'm on a budget so is 20dollars ok? and i need by tonight? (private joke)

Her: I would like some silk that fades from white to gray to black very gradually.

Me: I'm not really sure how I would accomplish that with my resources. It would be hard for me. How much silk?

Her: Oh, about five or six yards. Plus matching veils. What price per yard would you charge for the silk?

Me: Assuming I could even do it... which I'm not sure... umm... something like $25/yard.

Her: Well, I'll just buy some in the store then.

Me: They have gradation silk in the store?

Her: No, it's polyester.

Uhhh... right.

Originally Posted by jesennia

oh look at that gawdawful ombre dyeing from dharma. ring around the collar anyone.

someday i might be forced to, at gunpoint, sell my secrets of ombre dyeing but it still feeds us ..l;,

Actually I'm pretty happy Dharma posted this icky picture, because it really points up how hard it is to do! Might save a lot of people a lot of wasted time.

Originally Posted by tigerb

Her: I would like some silk that fades from white to gray to black very gradually.

Me: I'm not really sure how I would accomplish that with my resources. It would be hard for me. How much silk?

Her: Oh, about five or six yards. Plus matching veils. What price per yard would you charge for the silk?

Me: Assuming I could even do it... which I'm not sure... umm... something like $25/yard.

Her: Well, I'll just buy some in the store then.

Me: They have gradation silk in the store?

Her: No, it's polyester.

Uhhh... right.

oh dear do you get them too?

POLYESTER? laughs :)

yes achieving a good ombre is harder than it looks..i dont dip and dye except for ppppp ppppp pastels

Tiger I just posted something about the manufacturing/etc law in the business section, has this come up on Paula's forum yet? Its been a while since i've visited..wonder if this will affect buying supplies from dharma as well?

When I was in London last year I saw this beautiful dress which was Ombre dyed, White on top, to pink to brown. yummy! And at what converted to $1,200 at the time, it should have been! I was having thoughts of making the dress (basic spaghetti strap bias cut slip dress with a small train) and sending it to you to dye! ACK!

Originally Posted by jesennia

oh dear do you get them too?

POLYESTER? laughs :)

yes achieving a good ombre is harder than it looks..i dont dip and dye except for ppppp ppppp pastels

Tiger I just posted something about the manufacturing/etc law in the business section, has this come up on Paula's forum yet? Its been a while since i've visited..wonder if this will affect buying supplies from dharma as well?

If you mean the thing with the third party testing... yes, there has been some frantic discussion on Paula's board due to the number of dyers of kids' articles there. Those who market children's clothing will clearly be more scrutinized... but this flammability test thing is wacky. I don't know what to think.

I'm under the understanding it's going to affect us all..non kid stuff too, at least it will if we sell to retailers

but there are so many rumors and non professionals trying to figure out what the damn thing says its hard to say.

Ladies what do you think about dying the sort of soft lycra that Sahar uses? (Not the shiny stuff) If my lilac doesn't sell I'm thinking about dying it, maybe a darker purple. Am I crazy? thoughts?

Here's the costume in question:
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/bellydance...ced-again.html

Originally Posted by laurasbelly

Ladies what do you think about dying the sort of soft lycra that Sahar uses? (Not the shiny stuff) If my lilac doesn't sell I'm thinking about dying it, maybe a darker purple. Am I crazy? thoughts?

Here's the costume in question:
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/bellydance...ced-again.html

Dyeing spandex is difficult. Take a look at this:

FAQ: How can I dye spandex? How can I dye Lycra®? How can I dye elastane?

Also, you are talking about dyeing an embellished garment. You don't have any way to predict what will happen when you dunk it in water - particularly hot water! The beads and sequins could lose their color... pick up weird colors... what is the thread they are sewn with made of? Will it dye the same as the fabric, darker, lighter?

I personally would never dye a costume of this type unless I was willing to live with the possible outcome of totally ruining it. ..c::

There's an article on my web site with some dyeing tips and tricks:

Tips and Tricks for Dyeing Belly Dance Costume Items

Oh boy, i think I'm in over my head here. If no one buys it maybe I'll take it to a pro and see what they think. Thanks so much for your help ladies!

Originally Posted by Whisper

I want to dye my wedding dress because it's simple enough to be a formal gown if in a color. I'd love to be able to have the affect of darker at the bottom, then fading up. I guess that the issue of different fabrics will be important too? Any ideas / advice? It's ivory and I'd love to dye it turquoise or royal purple...

So many things to go wrong, I personally would not do this with a dress of any value, be it personal attachment or cold hard $$$$.

I dyed an old wedding dress for a Halloween costume once, using plain old fashioned Ritt dye. My goal was black, the dress I dyed was poly/silk with cotton/silk embellished lace. The fabric turned a stainless steel gray and the lace turned black.

Decorations and embellishments can melt in hot water. Even if the decoration is fine, the glue holding it in place can melt. Some fabrics, like polyester, require a special dye (if they can be dyed at all).

Recently plain, unadorned silk dresses were the hot wedding fashion here. Silk dyes easily, so you might be able to dye a simple dress with little or no decoration BUT please do NOT make it your first dying project, especially not a special effect like dip dye.