I'm Dying For Weddings....Dying Fabrics and Laces

I've been having fun dying fabrics and laces.   Some turned out amazing, some....well, lets just say will look good if I ever decide to make a clown's costume for Halloween.   I try different techniques and a lot of trial and error.  Some days its more error!

My theory of weddings is individualize the wedding, make it personal, make it your own.   It should reflect the personalities of the couple, not mom's, not grandma's, nor your peeps.  I make wedding accessories differently than the norm because they aren't available in the mass market.  China has infiltrated the market with a lot of mass produced stuff...the same old same old that everyone and their brother has at their wedding.

Anyway, I have bolts and bolts of fabrics and laces that we used back in the day in our late great bridal salon.   One day I decided....hey, I'm going to dye some of this stuff to get some different looks.   During a manic dye session, the phone rang and I took off my gloves and forgot to put them back on.   My nails turned a murky shade of green/blue.   It creeped out my husband after he stopped laughing.  He imagined they looked like a corpse's nails.   I scrubbed, I bleached and the dye was set and wasn't coming out easily.   I had to go out, so I painted them green.   Problem solved....in a few days the dye faded and I was back to normal. 

We used to tea dye in the bridal shop, but dying with fabric and veggie dyes is way more fun.  I get excited watching them dry because the colors change.  Its way more fun than watching paint dry.   OK, truth....I never slow down enough to watch anything dry. 

Vintage tea dyed lace on the top of the chair, brightly dyed lace on the chair seat, working hard to perfect the colors.

I have a big bag of dyed lace just waiting for me to create something unique for the unique bride.   Here are a few of my creations using tie dyed white Japanese chiffon.

I've been dying feathers and its interesting how different feathers take the dye.   Only problem is when I am drying them outside, they get fluffy as they dry...and they float around.   I realized it when the post man came to deliver a package (yeah, I buy on Etsy, too) and asked me what bird has pink feathers.   I couldn't stop laughing when he said a pink bird must have been attacked in my driveway.   Oops!

Check me out on Etsy!  http://www.etsy.com/shop/Weddingzilla     You never know, I just might have a clown suit listed....