Hello friends!
*Portions of this post originally appeared on the Cali Fabrics blog*
I absolutely LOVE using heirloom techniques to add interesting details to everyday clothing. Yes, they take extra time, but they really add that extra little bit of casual couture that makes your clothing stand out. For this dress, I used my TNT pattern — the Decades of Style ESP Dress and some lovely cotton eyelet (or broderie anglaise).
Source: Decades of Style Pattern Co.
The fabric for this dress started out white. I chose this lovely white designer floral cotton eyelet, which is a beautiful, high quality fabric. I initially planned on making this dress in white, but the fact is that I already have another similar white eyelet dress, so it didn’t really make sense to sew up another one. So what did I do? I dyed it!
I wanted this dress to be navy. I am a fabric dyeing novice, although I’ve had success with dyeing fabrics in pastel colors. However, it’s a much different story dyeing fabric in a dark color. I read all of the instructions and used two bottles of dye as well as the recommended amount of salt. The fabric looked navy when I pulled it out of the dye bath, but lightened to a periwinkle blue color after the dye was rinsed…. I was going to settle for that color, but the day before I planned to sew this dress up, I decided to dye it again, using the high-efficiency washer method. Although it did get a little darker, it was not navy. I added vinegar that time and I just ended up with a slightly darker periwinkle blue and some splotchy fabric. It was evenly dyed during the first dyeing process in a tub, where I tended to it manually, but not so in the washer. I decided to go with it and think of it as a unique fabric, instead of one with dyeing flaws. My advice though is NOT to dye in a high-efficiency washer and probably to use the stovetop dyeing method for dark colors. I’m obviously no expert, but my thoughts are that the dye bath needs to be very hot for the darker colored dye to adhere to it.
As I was adding some interesting details to this dress, I opted to use a dress pattern that I was very familiar with. I’ve already sewn nine ESP dresses in many different fabrics (silk linen, cotton voile, cotton gingham and quilting cotton), so I knew it was going to be an easy, no-hassle sewing project. I had this vintage cotton entredeux lace in my stash, so I dyed it along with the fabric and went along sewing it insertion style into the eyelet. The entredeux is sewn on the fabric, then the fabric is cut back on the inside and folded and ironed away from the lace so that it appears to be part of the fabric. You then go back and sew the folded pieces of fabric down, stabilizing the lace insertion. It’s a tedious process, but super easy when you get the hang of it.
I had a lot the entredeux, so I went to town adding the lace insertion to this dress. I started on the bodice and matched up my lace before sewing the bodice together. I then lined the bodice, added insertion to the sleeves, and sewed the sleeves on before joining the gathered skirt to the bodice. After I had the dress sewn, I added the rows of entredeux insertion to the skirt. (This dress is lined with some leftover navy blue cotton from my stash)
Entredeux isn’t really the ideal lace for this project, but I am so very happy with the outcome. I had to hand sew some of it to reinforce it as entredeux does not have a border. An easier lace to use for this insertion technique would be lace that I used in this dress. Entredeux is narrow , has no borders and has to be trimmed quite a bit as well as reinforced a bit more to work. Entredeux is meant to be sewn right sides together, but as I was sewing lace insets, I had to use it in a different way. This is my fifth project with insertion lace and probably the one that is the least “neat” as I chose to use entredeux…
I confess that with all of it’s trials and tribulations, I really love this dress. It’s cool and comfortable and has interesting details that make it unique. It’s definitely one of my favorite summer dresses and one I look forward to wearing for years to come.
Happy Sewing!
- Dress: Decades of Style ESP Dress in cotton eyelet, made by me
- Shoes: Aerosoles
- Sunglasses: Birch
- Purse: Vintage
- Belt: Macy’s
- Pin: Vintage from my grandma
I actually caught my breath when the picture of you in this gorgeous dress came up on my screen-Wow-what great colour and I love the entredeux!
I think your dying experiment went rather well!
Have you heard of crockpot dyeing? You use an old electric crockpot (dedicated to dyeing and no longer to food prep) and you put in your damp base in with the appropriate dye, and using the heat regulation feature, heat on high for about an hour, then for up to 10 hrs on low.
I have only seen this done with protein bases (wool, silk, nylon yarns) but perhaps it can be used to dye plant fibres too. But the colours are vibrant and saturated and fast.
The only limitations I can see are the volumes of fabric needed to be dyed and the capacity of the crockpot.
Otherwise, in winter, perhaps you can use the oven set low, over many hours. That way you can use a baking dish large enough for all the fabric.
Awesome dress!
And I’m going to try the lace insertion method you mentioned. Thanks.
What a great idea! Maybe I’ll pick up a used crockpot sometime at thrift store and use it for that purpose. The oven idea also sounds like a good one, although I wonder about stirring it in there. Also, you definitely should try doing insertion lace! It’s a fun and interesting detail.
Everything about this dress is so beautiful – the style, the fabric, and the details! I’m absolutely in love with this dress. And I know it’s not exactly navy blue, but I do love this unique shade. 🙂
Thank you, Kelsey!
I really love the heirloom details you put into casual dresses! It makes them really special but still wearable in your everyday life. The blue turned out beautiful. Navy would have been nice too, but this is a really lovely shade!
Thank you, Kelly! I like how you wear the heirloom details every day rather than just for special occasions. 🙂
I love the blue, and those cat eye sunglasses are so fun! The entredeux really adds a lot too. I like how it breaks up the eyelet and creates a pattern. I’m finding with dye that the longer a piece of fabric has been in my stash the more I’m likely to be comfortable with changing it. I have a piece of cotton with these fluffy fringed rectangles on the surface that I’ve had for maybe 6 or 7 years. It started out mocha which is far too cool for me, but I bleached it out, and now it’s a reasonable green.
Thank you, Elizabeth! Bleaching also is quite interesting, isn’t it? I just bleached a bunch of sheets to make curtains for our gatsby picnic and one of them didn’t even turn white. I guess its the fabric content perhaps?
Yes, if it’s a blend, the bleach won’t touch the synthetic fibers. I have the coolest vintage 70s floral fabric in the most hideous green colorway. I’ve hit it with bleach, with RIT color remover…nothing. I’d so love to use it but it is breathtakingly 70s not in a good way. 😀 This is how you become a fiber snob!
Beautiful dress, and I think the fabric is more interesting than navy! It looks quite intentional and evenly mottled.
The trouble with modern HE machines is that there’s not enough water to keep all parts of the fabric evenly saturated (I do a lot of dyeing). The best results would come from either constant stirring in a dyebath over heat, or an old fashioned top loading machine (with agitator) as long as you can control how much water the machine adds (if it’s smallest load adds a lot of water, the dye may end up being too diluted, and black dye will end up dyeing clothes grey instead).
The new top loading HE machines (sans agitator) are hopeless too, because again, they don’t fill up enough with water, and although you can sometimes do a manual fill, you cannot always control the length of the wash cycle.
Good luck on your dyeing experiments! You’re off to a great start!
Thank you! i didn’t think that a HE washer would work either, but I thought that I’d try it as the dye had instructions for such a washer. Nope, it doesn’t work! Trial and error. 🙂
Your dress is so pretty.
I think the variations in the colors give it a modern edge -very youthful too.
I love that you added the insertions in the back bodice too – ties everything together. Is it possible to ask to see a photo sans belt?
Thank you, Kathy! It’s fun to figure out the placement of the lace. I didn’t take a photo of the dress on me without the belt, but it looks similar to the dress on the dressform. I usually wear my ESP dresses with belts, but I found that I actually prefer wearing this one without a belt.
Such a pretty dress! I used to do French lace sewing when my kiddos were small but wouldn’t have thought of using it like this. Very inspiring…
Thank you, Ginger! Yes, it’s fun and interesting to use it in different ways, isn’t it?
Love the mottled finish…keeps it from being a plain blue dress…way more interesting. You may find people ask you where you could possibly find such cool fabric…ha ha! Your lace insertions are so clever and well placed…another super project. Thank you for sharing great photos too!
Thank you!!! I guess it turned out to be a very unique dress!
Spectacular! Very well done. I don’t think the unevenness is a problem. If you want to avoid it in the future, I recommend Procion fiber reactive dyes from Dharma trading: https://www.dharmatrading.com/dyes/dharma-fiber-reactive-procion-dyes.html?lnav=dyes.html. Widely used by textile artists and quilters for cotton, hemp and linen, these dyes need a soda ash mordant instead of salt, but are worth the trouble as they give vivid, permanent non runny color. Dritz dyes are made to dye a wide range of fibers, and consequently do none of them very well. Getting a dye and mordant for the specific fiber really helps with evenness. You still have to stir and stir, though 😟.
Thanks, Elizabeth! I actually used procion dye to dye some silk hemp for a dress that I haven’t shared yet. I never get unevenness dyeing when I dye in a tub/bucket as I sit there stirring the whole time. This one got uneven when I went in the second round in my high efficiency washing machine, which I won’t do again. My problem is getting the colors to stay deep and dark. I follow all of the directions and I still haven’t been able to accomplish it after tries with two different fabrics.
Dyeing is complicated—lots of variables that affect the outcome. And dark colors are the most challenging. Your difficulties in dyeing dark could be due to your water (chlorine content) or the fabric itself (fabrics can have all sorts of finishes that interfere with dye permanence). Pre-washing with the proper detergent, using non-chlorinated water, and soda ash as a mordant can help. But the only way to be sure is to test, test, test!
I think the dress looks lovely, and the inset details are amazing.
Thank you for your advice. It sure is a complicated process with trial and error, especially for darker colors. We don’t have any chlorine in our water as we have a well and I pre-washed it in the manner that was suggested. The fabric is supposed to be 100% cotton, but I did notice that the thread on the eyelet isn’t, so not sure that it had any effect. Anyway, it turned out to be unique!