These two haven’t had any new clothes for ages, and now it’s time to change that. I recently started to experiment with dip dyeing fabric or finished clothes. It’s basically done like the name suggests, the fabric is just partially dyed by dipping it into the dye bath in a wet state.
I started with a lighter tone, and the green shirt also received some batik effect circles. After the light green had been fixed I hung the wet shirt on a doll clothes hanger and dipped the hem and sleeves in a darker dye bath.
Finn’s lilac shirt was dyed the other way round, a formerly white shirt received a dark hem dye and I just dipped the whole shirt for a couple of seconds after the hems were already dark violet.
It works with wigs as well, even though the dye I used for the fabric does not work for natural fibers. What I used for the wig is food dye for Easter eggs. Food dye is acid dye and can be used like ‘proper’ acid dye – it has to be fixed with acid, white vinegar in this case. I just wanted to test if it works, the colors are not as vibrant as with acid dye for wool, but I like the effect.
I love how the shirts came out. This process gives a prettier effect than tie dye. I'll be interested to see how the wigs look dipped in food dye. I'm not sold on the fabric dye for natural fiber wigs, which is strange because you'd think fabric dye would work best on natural fibers. Maybe the fabric dye would look better on a natural white fiber.
:-). The best (and worst) thing about tie dyes and dye in general is the element of surprise. I've been dyeing my own clothes for years, but I always used the washing machine, mostly to freshen up the original color. Hand dyeing is really different and much more interesting. The green part of the wig is food dye. Mohair, wool and lambskin need acid dyes apparently – I did a little research for this first. You can find some great videos on youtube showing wool dye jobs with acid dyes, in case you are interested.
Love the tops Mia and the experimenting with the dyes, especially on the wig. You are always a mine of information.
Big hugs,
X
Thank you 🙂 As for the information – I think the credit should go to all the people who have done this before and have published loads of useful videos. But it's really fun, even if it's messy :D. One thing I have learned the green way: use gloves. Always.
Apologies for not commenting sooner, but everytime I come to your blog, you always surprise me so much!! The level of detail and perfect scaling in your craftmanship is stunning! I'd love to have some shirts like that for my JID girl!
Thank you! No apologies needed, really. I am glad you are well, and I am behind with commenting on blogs as well. Difficult times…
Both shirts look great. And it's a very intresting result with the wig. I like this green accent.
Thank you 🙂
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