Wednesday, August 19, 2015

A Skirt Tail


My favorite skirt - no the ruffle doesn't really hang lopsided, it is just the way I attached it to the hanger.
In my zeal to finish some long standing projects, I deviated frequently from jewelry revamps to revamping my wardrobe. 

We all have favorite garments, something we tend to wear over and over again.  For me it's a mid-calf length, blue denim skirt that I truly adore because it looks good on me and is very comfortable.  Unfortunately a greasy stain marred the front of the skirt.  Before laundering  I tried to remove the stain with a stain stick and a great deal of  scrubbing.  Once the garment had gone through the wash and dry cycle, I was dismayed to see the stain was gone but in its place was a very light, almost white patch of fabric.  Perhaps the stain would have been better?

The skirt was put aside as I decided to "someday" try dying it with Rit fabric dye.   Finally that "Day" actually came.  Having bought a package of Rit, powder dye, in a dark denim blue, I proceeded to follow the instructions very carefully.  Naturally, like the idiot that I can often be, I failed to don an apron or change into the grubbiest of my grubby, "Never to be worn outside of the house" clothes.  Instead I was wearing a comfortably old, yet relatively nice, A-line dress.  It was one that I had made from a Simplicity pattern, using a soft, comfy, cotton interlock knit, in a pastel, apple green.  The dress, much like the skirt, was a favorite of mine and was worn often.

I had made the sleeveless, short version (shown in white on pattern).
 
Honestly I was trying to be very cautious but as I lifted the wet, freshly dyed skirt from its steaming hot, dye bath, it slipped and flopped back into the basin with a mighty splash.  Naturally the splash of indigo dyed water targeted my apple green dress.  At the moment there was little I could do except remove the dress and toss it into the basin along with the skirt.  Anyway, the skirt turned out beautifully . . . the apple-green, A-line dress however looked like c_ _ p ! 
Since I hadn't  time to prewash it (as the dye bath was still nice and hot and would be cold had I taken time to properly launder the dress)  the dye took unevenly, also my dress came out a shade of drab, charcoal gray rather than a clean denim blue.  :(

Okay, so now I had yet another project on my list . . .  make a new A-line dress like the one I had just ruined.  Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed !

5 comments:

  1. Having worked with RIT dyes, don't worry. It will fade and wash out in a month. I'm surprised their dyes are even still on the market as they are such bad quality. Tulip brand is much better. You can probably find a high quality fabric dye online from Dharma Dyes in San Rafael, CA. I used to get all my tie dying supplies from them in the 90s.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the good advice JoJo. The only dye I've ever used has been Rit and I must admit that I've never been 100% pleased with the results. Next time I'll give Tulip brand a try or check out Dharma Dyes' website.

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  2. Replies
    1. I have thought about that but to be honest Black and even gray are not my colors. It's not that I don't like them, it's because I just look sickly in them. :(
      I may try a color or dye remover and then attempt to re-dye in a color more sutable to my complexion.

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  3. Try washing the dress several times without using the dryer. It will probably fade if you avoid heat setting it!

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