Project Revamp: Stage Three Hand Dying

 

So I'm trying my hand at hand dying, the satin from the wedding dress was still slightly yellowed so I picked up some iDye Poly dye for synthetics from Blick Art Materials. But be forewarned, if you want pastels only put like a 1/2 tsp in a big pot of hot water. Also if you leave it in for a long time the color gets way more intense. I tried just a sleeve piece first and really had to dilute it. I did the pinkish hue first and then made a blue gray mixture that I dipped the edges in and it turned lilac. Once the fabric is properly rinsed and ironed I will post some design sketches. 

Project Revamp: Stage Two Disassembly

The future couture gown is underway, I cut apart the layers and threw away this nasty crumply brownish paper layer that was sewn underneath. Next up I soaked the pieces in a cold bath of "Biz" basically the cheap man's version of Oxiclean. So far the cost of this project has been $5 + $6.50. I let the dress soak overnight and by the next morning, grossville! The water was brown! I can't wait to see the pieces dry and clean and less musty smelling. Look forward to the posts of my fashion sketches coming soon! What style do you think I should shoot for, send me ideas!

Project Runway, Lady Popeko Style

So here is one of my big pet projects of the year. I got a dress form from my parents for Christmas! And I purchased this old wedding dress from the Peoria Players Theater sale when I was 15 for $5. My goal is to refashion it into a beautiful and elaborate couture gown by the end of the year. Fashion doesn't have to be for the rich and famous. I'm no seamstress but I do love to design and I've been drawing fashion sketches since grade school. I will be tracking the progress as I go. Have you ever revamped a garment? If so do you have any tips?