One of the biggest new skills I learned for this project was fabric dyeing - it’s a game changer and I’m now completely obsessed!
Originally, I was planning to buy coordinating blue silks in satin and organza. But as I shopped for swatches, I wasn’t finding anything that felt right, let alone coordinated with the other fabrics. I ended up finding some beautiful pieces at Elfriede’s in Boulder, and one of the folks who works there recommended I try dyeing my own (thanks Lauren!). She recommended using acid dyes for silk, instead of the more widely available Rit dyes that most folks use for cotton and polyester. I tried a few more times to find something pre-dyed before finally accepting that I wasn’t going to find the perfect colors, and starting to learn how to dye. Once again Kat Makes was an invaluable resource, since she also made her own wedding gown and dyed her own fabrics - her documentation is impeccable, I highly recommend her blog if you’re trying to do anything similar.
I did about 8 different swatch tests on smaller cuts of silk before starting on my final fabrics. Most acid dye recipes call for using about 1-2% of the fabric weight in dye, but for a much more saturated color than I was going for. I started testing at 0.5% of the fabric weight, and even that was too dark! After testing I settled on a formula of equal parts blue, grey, and champagne (just a hint of warmth) at 0.1-0.25% of fabric weight, depending on the piece. Luckily this was all replicable with the help of a few Excel formulas and a very sensitive scale.
Measuring out 0.2g of dye
All 8 color tests - #7 was the winner!
Once the tests were done I could move on to dyeing my real fabrics! I went back to Elfriede’s for my silks (how could I not, I have an amazing fabric shop right in my backyard that stocks all the natural silks a girl could want, and with fantastic staff who were so encouraging and inspired some of the best elements of the dress). I got a yard of heavy-ish silk-satin for the bodice, 13 yards of silk organza for the skirts (circle skirts take up a lot of yardage!), and about 4 yards of a silk cotton sateen for the lining.
As I’ve mentioned my vision was to have all the fabrics in the same color, but varying saturation to give the skirt some depth and movement. I dyed the bodice and the top layer of the skirt a lighter blue, the bottom organza layer of the skirt a darker blue, and the lining somewhere in between. So I calculated dye weights at 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.25% of the fabric weight for each of the 4 cuts, and got to dyeing! This part was so fun and satisfying, now that I know how to do it I’ll never go back.
Skirt lining fabric in the dye bath, soaking in the color
All four fabrics in the bath bath, washing out the chemicals after dyeing
4 dyed cuts of silk! From left to right: skirt lining, bottom layer of organza, top layer of organza, and bodice. Shown with the embroidered yardage I used for appliques.
Once I had all my fabrics dyed it was time to start cutting! I took a big break here due to crippling fear of ruining this beautiful fabric - but eventually I worked up the courage and started the long construction process, which I’ll get into in detail next.
P.S. Not related to dyeing, but I can’t talk about fabric without calling out the absolutely gorgeous floral embroidery I used for the skirt appliques. I found this fabric the very first time I ever visited Elfriede’s, at the very beginning of the design process. Tony was with me that day, so I had to play it cool, but I couldn’t get those gorgeous colors out of my head. I couldn’t picture the dress without it, and thank goodness when I went back they still had 2 yards left - I bought it all.
The florals I could never get out of my head!