Dresses to Dye For

This is a great time of year to pick up a few pieces of clothing in white, because they are all on sale, making way for Fall clothes.  And the thought of dyeing them was foremost on my mind.  At my local clothing boutique, I bought these two dresses.  In California,  our hot climate is in September and October, so I am getting ready.

So one sleeveless and one with short sleeves - in linen.  The colors that I used were Ocean Blue and Intense Violet.  What could be easier? Throw on a dress and go to my studio.

The is the dye that I used.  Dylon - a warm water dye, which is available at most big box stores.

To start, add about 4 T salt to a 5-lb bucket, and then add warm water, about a third of the way up from the bottom.  Carefully add the dye and stir.  Be sure to wear rubber gloves and an apron to protect your clothing from splashes.  The directions call for you to pre-wash your fabric, but I prefer the hand-dyed look of imperfection, so I skip that step.  Carefully, add your garment to the dye, and stir it around in the bucket.  It will take about 30 minutes today in the dye, stirring occasionally.  When the buzzer sounds, rinse the dress in cold water, squeeze out excess dye till it is clear.

Here is the purple sleeveless dress, with many imperfections in the dye on the cloth

A close-up shot

The blue dress

Close-up of the blue dress;  after I rinsed them both out in cold water, I threw them in the washer with a couple of towels and washed them in the delicate cycle with a tad of detergent, and popped them into the dryer.