1560's Italian dye saga

[mia_67]

Well, I screwed up my courage and went to Dharma Trading for dye and instructions. I ended up with the Acid dye for silks in burnt orange and emerald green. Because my fabric wasn't white to start with it was a bit tricky choosing the color to overdye.  Both fabrics were tan/gold with green undertones so those colors were supposed to be "compatible

Comments

[fleurdelysa]

I agree that the embroidered silk has more of a Victorian feel to it. the floral bands really pop now! Did you dye in the washer or the bathtub? I haven't dyed a large piece of fabric yet, because I always worry about even distribution of the dye. How did you set the dye with the acid dye? questions, questions... ;)

[jehanni]

I like the colors you got--I think they'll look lovely with your complexion. The bronzy plain silk looks very intriguing to me, and the embroidery on the brighter orange pops nicely--funny how being paler than the ground gives a different feel than being darker/brighter than the ground! Did you enjoy the dye process

[mia_67]

I used the washing machine. I'm totally converted to that method! So much easier and less mess. The acid dye was easy to set too- just added 1/4 cup of vinegar. Afterwards I had to run the washer again using bleach but easy enough...
I usually like blue- but I'm beginning to move to brighter colors- jewel tones seem to look better on me. It's hard though because I'm always attracted to blue and black.
Thanks for the tip on slashing and embroidery for the plain fabric- I think it will set it off! I'm going to save the embroidered stripe for victorian, I'm inspired to use it for a dress similar to this one in Kyoto:
http://www.kci.or.jp/archives/da_popup/index_e.html