Adventures in dyeing a Cressida
This skirt is special to me for two reasons: one, it's my first Jennifer Lauren pattern, and two, it was my first time dyeing fabric.
I chose to sew view one of the Cressida skirt, a semi circle skirt with pockets and two rows of buttons down the front. I really love the look of Cressida, but honestly I almost said, "no" when Jennifer offered me a copy of the pattern. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't like PDF patterns. Life has been crazy and I wasn't sure if I could take on another deadline and the thought of hunching over the floor and cutting and taping did not sound appealing to me.
Luckily, Jennifer was superrrrr flexible and didn't pressure me to have the skirt finished by a particular date, which was really cool of her. Another plus was that the cutting and taping wasn't as bad as I made it out to be. It never really is (I just build it up to be the worst task in the world haha), but Jennifer's instructions truly did make life easier. She clearly lists which pages need to be printed for each version instead of having you print everything, tape/cut it all, and then figure out which pieces you need. I appreciated the thought because I hate wasting extra paper and I hate wasting unnecessary time on a version of a garment that won't be used.
Jennifer's step by step instructions were good and for the most part I didn't struggle trying to figure things out. I liked the line drawings (I'm not a fan of photographs in sewing instructions. Do you guys think I am a PDF Diva now? haha) which were plentiful. I followed the instructions to a T and couldn't think of anything I would do differently, which I often do once I have completed a project.
The only part where I was slightly confused was when I was attaching the pockets. On the diagrams it looks like the pockets are supposed to butt up to the top of the skirt. Based on the notches I marked, mine didn't, but the fabric may have stretched before I stay stitched, so it was my bad. Either way, it wasn't a big deal because in the end it all worked out fine.
Let's talk about the fabric. It's a 100% cotton swiss dot voile from Michael Levine and was described as off white, which was a selling point to me. When the fabric arrived it was bright white. I'm no Olivia Pope aka Kerry Washington aka the biggest babe on TV, and I didn't think I could rock white like she does (perfectly put together, stain free despite loving red wine, and badass like), so I decided to dye it. Problem was, I had never dyed anything in my life.
I reached out on Instagram and asked for tips. My buddy Ely directed me to a local girl named Linny. Linny is a fabric dyeing expert and I begged her to teach me her ways. She is interested in learning some sewing stuff, so hopefully we can meet up and exchange tips. I digress.
Linny, and a few others, suggested giving Rit Dye a try. I boiled a pot of water, added almost half the dye, added my wet fabric and mixed it for a few minutes while letting it soak. My ideal yellow is a pale pale one, so I didn't want to let it sit in the color for too long. I washed the fabric, dried it, and noticed that the fabric was a little splotchy :( I ended up dyeing it a second time which made the color more rich (boo), but got rid of most of the splotches (yay). Even though the color didn't work out the way I had envisioned, it was still really fun to try. Dyeing fabric has always intimidated me and I'm happy to announce that it's not as hard or scary as it seems. Now, I kind of want to dye everything!
What about you guys, have you dyed fabric? Would you ever consider making a nautical Cressida? Because I think someone needs to make one!
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I love dyeing! It's fun to take something bleh and make it amazing. The skirt is super cute!
ReplyDeleteI really like your skirt. I think a nautical version would be quite nice. I am making version 2 in an olive color right now.
ReplyDeleteI love your skirt! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Andie!
ReplyDeleteOoooh, olive will be really pretty!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bobbbi! Have you ever tried tea dyeing? I am curious about it!
ReplyDeleteThe color looks like it turned out nicely! The only time I've dyed fabric was when I refreshed a favorite pair of old faded jeans. I used Dylon, and it worked really well. Oh, and I died yarn with koolaid once too, that was really fun!
ReplyDeletePretty! I have only dyed fabric once and it was kinda fun but took me ages! I also tried dyeing yarn but it didn't turn out like I wanted. I personally am not a nautical girl but yes! This skirt begs for it! Yours looks sweet and practical :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marrie! Koolaid yarn sounds awesome! But does it bleed when you wash your garment? Or is there some sort of trick for making the color stick? Sorry if these are dumb questions, newbie here!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jo!!! xo
ReplyDeleteI haven't had any bleeding problems. It's been a few years since I did it, but I think I remember using vinegar in the process, and that's supposed to help set the color. I think I also heated the koolaid mixture. I think heat also sets koolaid, cause I died my hair permanently teal in high school when I dipped it in some boiling koolaid. I thought it was going to be a temporary, but it stayed till I cut it off!
ReplyDeleteThis looks great! I love that you learned a new skill - dying fabric is something I would really like to try too!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Heather! You should try it out, it's not as scary as it seems... or as I made it out to be haha
ReplyDeleteThis skirt is too cute. That colour is fantastic. Well done on the dye job there lady. You've got me itching to buy some dye and have a play :) If I find a giant pot the next time at a thrift shop it's mine!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your first dyeing adventure! I've never tried it, but it's on my list of things to try at some point down the road. The skirt still looks like a pretty pale yellow, so hopefully it's not too yellow for you to enjoy wearing! :)
ReplyDeleteOoooooh that's a good idea! I should check out thrift shops for a bigger pot. I'm totally stealing your idea, Vanessa :P
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carolyn! I'm alright with the yellow being a little darker. I think I'm so excited about my first dyeing project that I don't care that it's not perfect haha :)
ReplyDeleteYou are totally welcome to. Happy thrifting :-)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your first fabric dye! It's a pretty pale yellow. I was at a fabric store looking at lace and they only have bright white. The sales clerk suggested tea dyeing it to make it off-white. I didn't try it but that's something you might want to consider. Brew some black tea and dip your bright white fabric in that. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in high school, I did some batik fabric dyeing - using wax on cotton and some silk fabric for areas that would resist color. And then dipping the fabric in dye. I made some pillows and a dress.
Ooh, this is so pretty on you! I love the pale yellow! I would love to do some dyeing, buuuuuut I've been forbidden from doing it in the apartment! :D I'm accident-prone and messy and poor Blake would probably have a nervous breakdown from hovering over me hovering over the dye vat!
ReplyDeleteErin this looks great!! I love the pattern and that is such the perfect color yellow. It's beautiful :)
ReplyDeleteI definitely want to try out tea dyeing! I almost did it for this skirt actually :) I'm going to LA a couple of times in the ext few months, so I'm going to be on the look out for some white fabric just for that reason!
ReplyDeletehahaha! I was worried about staining the sink and tripping with the boiling water, so I feel you!
ReplyDeleteThanks BBFF!
ReplyDelete