Dying the Brown Dress

 I posted recently about bleaching a dress in preparation to dye it for a commission. I just finished and sold it today, and here is the result!

My camera is awful, but it came out a nice deep shade of purple. 

New Look 6243 Commission

I've been working on another commission to make New Look's 6243 in size 14. I finished a few days ago, and just sold it. I don't have a sewing machine at the moment, so all my work is hand stitching. All in all I'm quite proud of how it turned out- and she seemed to really love it which is very rewarding.

I used view A along with the trim from view B, but I used ribbon instead of fabric for the waist bow. I thought it would tie in the contrast fabric along the top since they're made of complimentary designs, and I think it did so nicely.

There were a few things to it I had never done before- mainly the invisible zipper and the neckline and armhole binding. The binding was a little tricky; I used the lining material and had picked a slippery fabric to work with so getting it smooth was a bit of a challenge.

find this dress here

The pattern called for a whip stitch to be used on the back of the binding to make the stitch invisible, but I opted for a straight stitch all the way through, just from personal preference. I think showing a seam or two along the edge is a bit more interesting, it's like a subtle embroidery. I like it for much the same reason I like a bright lining- it's just a little bit of something extra that's sort of a surprise. You don't really know it's there unless you own it or look closely.

The invisible zipper gave me more trouble than the binding. I don't usually use them- like the stitch details I prefer an obvious zipper (see photo right) so a lot of my work doesn't call for it. It took me a few tries to get it right. I ended up basting the lining and shell together, and then basting that to the zipper after marking the zipper where it should hit on the waistline, so everything would match up nice and neat. It was a pain, but it was a great learning experience, and I think I can say with confidence I can do another really well in the future. It definitely showed me that basting is my friend lol

The finished product.

Some of the detail work.

  

I'm definitely proud of the final result. After working on it so long it was a bit strange to sell it lol I've gotten used to thinking about it and seeing it hanging up on my wall. Now that the work is done, I miss working on it. Luckily I've got a few other projects going on, and the girl I took the commission from wants me to make her a lot more pieces (somewhere around 10 I think) so hopefully we get started on the next one soon!

Bleaching the Brown Dress

I got a commission a while back to dye a dark brown dress purple. Immediately I got a little concerned because not only was it too dark to begin with, but the fabric information on the tag had faded into nothingness. I still don't know for sure what the fabric is, but just by feel it seems to be some kind of cotton spandex blend, heavy on the stretch factor. I wasn't even sure it was going to bleach, let alone dye- but I decided to give it a shot anyway. If nothing else, it's a fun experiment.

I've never had to pre-bleach my dye fabric before, so this was a first. I did some research and came out with a 1-4 ratio for the bleach solution, and a 1-10 ratio for the hydrogen peroxide (thank god i did research too- I wouldn't have known to use a bleach neutralizer!). I'm pretty avid about using hot water with my bleach. I've heard a few people say they like cold water best, but I just can't imagine it activating properly without the heat and I've never had good results with cold water as an activator in general. Thus, I used the hottest water I could get for the dye bath.

I used 32 cups (2 gallons) of hot water, and 8 cups of  bleach, added it to my handy 5 gallon dye bucket and whisked it together a little bit (I'm a stickler for an evenly mixed solution lol). After adding the dress I left it in for half an hour, agitating the mix every 5-10 minutes. Rinsed it with fresh water, and let it soak in the bleach neutralizer (20 cups cold water, 2 cups hydrogen peroxide) for about 20 minutes.

Newly bleached dress, still drying

The circled bit is the still wet fabric, and
close to the original color of the dress

Initially I didn't see any change in the wet fabric. I was pretty disappointed, and chocked it up to unwilling fabric or a bad bleach to water ratio. I hung it up to dry overnight, and voila, it's beautiful!! (see photo right)

I'm very happy with it, especially for a first attempt at bleaching fabric. I was a little nervous to have this piece for my first foray into fabric bleaching since it's for someone else, and if I mess up I can't just throw it out and start over on a new one. But I really wanted to give her the best results I can, and the only way I was gonna get any shade of purple to show up was with bleach. Overall I think it came out really good. I wonder how light I could have gotten it if I'd left it in longer, but this way I didn't get any damage so I'm happy. And it's not spotty!! I attribute that to the vigorous agitation- I must say I couldn't be more pleased with how evenly it's lightened.

Once it dries completely it'll be time to add the purple. The goal is to get a deep purple, which I think will be easily achieved with this shade of brown as a base. I can't wait! <3

DIY Non-Toxic Beauty Recipies

Makeup Remover

Bottles from Daiso

• 1 tbs Olive Oil
• 1 tbs Favorite Facial Soap 
• 1/4 cup Warm Water

Measure out 1/4 a cup of warm water in a mixing glass. Add a tablespoon of your favorite facial soap, and mix thoroughly. Add the olive oil and again mix thoroughly. 

Pour in to the container of your choice, I prefer a small bottle with a pump. Daiso sells a great one which works well and is very cute. I also use one for my facial toner (pictured right). 

Just squirt a few pumps on to a clean paper towel or cotton puff and wipe away your makeup! All natural, non-toxic, and very low cost.

Oatmeal Face Mask 

• 1/4 cup Oatmeal
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1 tbs Rose Water

There are two ways to make this face mask: on the stove top or in the microwave.

To make in the microwave, mix the rosewater and milk in a microwave safe bowl, and cook for about 2 minutes. Allow to cool, and coat face evenly. Let sit for about 15 minutes before washing off.

To make on the stove top, mix the rosewater and milk and bring to a light boil in a small pot. Add the oats and cook until soft on a low temperature, to avoid burning the milk. Allow to cool, and coat face evenly. Let sit for about 15 minutes before washing off.

While a little messy, it leaves your skin feeling wonderfully fresh. Non-toxic and environmentally friendly. 

Rose Water

Rose Water Facial Toner 

For this toner you can make your own rose water or rose oil, or buy it from a store. The one I use (pictured left) was a gift from a friend. I use it straight and it works wonderfully. I put about a tablespoon in my hand and lightly coat my face and neck before applying lotion.  

If you're interested in making your own rose water or rose oil, there's a wonderful tutorial here. Otherwise you should be able to find some at your local health food store.