pixiedust: Turn Blush and Bashful Into Bold and Black...or Something Close to That

A dear friend of mine, loyal blog follower and donor of a few thing that I have re-purposed, started asking me questions about the Rit dye project I did for Mardi Gras. She ruined a silk dress a while back by spilling a tiny bit of red wine on it and then tried to use club soda to remove it, which is apparently a no-no for silk.

She wanted to give it the old bridesmaids do-over, aka: dye it black. We all say that we're going to dye those dresses black but do we? No! Should we? Absolutely! I would like to take this moment to thank my very best friend, Ginger, for selecting a (beautiful) black bridesmaids dress to begin with. :)

I was going to show my friend how to do it but with both of our busy schedules and my general aptitude for lounging on the couch on Sunday afternoons, it wasn't looking like that was going to happen. So, I offered to do it for her whenever the mood struck me. Incidentally, she liked the dress so much that she ordered it in its original color so, if I mess this one up, it won't be that bad, right?

This is the dress in its original form. I have to say, it is even prettier in person.

And this is the stain.

Can you see it? Me either :)

The keys to success with any dye job you ask? A great big tub, rubber gloves and following directions. That's it! I swear it!

Wet the garment in warm water

Heat 3 gallons of water (for every 1 lb. of fabric) & pour into your large tub with pre-mixed color remover

Place the garment in the color remover bath

After 15 minutes the color lifted to this baby pink color

I gave it another 5 minutes but this was as light as it would go

In a large sink or bathtub, give the garment a gentle bath in woolite

Since the garment is already wet, you can immediately dye it

This time, I used the liquid dye in the bottle vs. the powder dye that you have to mix. While I liked the ease of use, this garment only required "half" of a bottle. Not wanting to pour black dye into any of my measuring cups, I was left to guess how much was half.

Note to Rit Dye: Please make a clear strip along the side of your bottle so one can easily see the "half" mark. Thanks!

After 5 minutes, add 1 cup of vinegar to the dye bath (for silk)

A beautiful, deep color saturated the dress in about 8 minutes. I stirred for a total of 20 minutes which allowed me to skip the gym.

I forgot to mention earlier that you need another smaller container to transport the garment from your sink to your laundry room, bathroom or wherever you are dying. You don't want this to drip on your floors!

I hung it up to dry overnight. I placed a drip pan underneath and used a dry cleaning bag to protect my cabinets. It looked like a very even dye job.......

The next morning, however, I realized that it was actually purple!

I think this may be due to two factors:

1. The dress would only lift to a light pink vs. white

2. I couldn't tell if I was using enough dye since the Rit Dye bottle isn't see-through

Also, the stitching remained pink. The Rit Dye website said that this happens sometimes due to the way the stitching itself is dyed. I actually think having a different color stitching is pretty cute.

Alas, my friend & I both wanted to make this dress black so, I tried it again.

THE FINISHED PRODUCT

As you may can tell, it actually didn't turn out black like we had hoped.

It is, however, a lovely deep shade of purple, much deeper than the original color I achieved.

Mishaps are a reality of crafting and a regular occurance in my projects. Isn't it fun to experiment to try to figure out how to remedy a problem? With a healthy mix of creativity and flexibility, I am telling you, you can do this. It is so, so easy!

Speaking of wedding season, have you checked out Vera Wang's black bridal collection? She's kind of a genius!
http://www.verawang.com/EN/wedding/bridal-collection/fall-2012

In case you are thinking of giving a dress in your closet a bridesmaids do-over, here are tips from the Rit Dye website:

Rit works best on many natural, washable fabrics and materials, such as:

100% cotton, linen, silk, wool, ramie
Synthetics such as rayon and nylon
Fiber blends with at least 60% cotton or other dyeable fiber
Natural materials such as wood, wicker, paper, feathers and cork

There are fabrics and materials that will NOT accept dye such as ...

100% polyester, acrylic, acetate, fiberglass, spandex and metallic fibers
Fabrics with rubber backing
Fabrics with special finishes such as water repellents
Fabrics with bleach damage or extensive staining
Fabrics washable only in cold water or labeled "dry clean only"
Polyethylene plastics such as golf discs
Polycarbonate plastics such as eyeglass frames

BONUS PROJECT!

I picked up two adorable lamps for a very cheap price. I absolutely loved the mint green color that they came in but they needed to be changed to fit the room I bought them for. Well, that and you know how much I love to spray paint!