I Shortened a Wedding Dress and Made the (Almost) PERFECT BARBIE DRESS!
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- Опубліковано 1 вер 2023
- Watch my struggles as I dye and shorten this wedding dress to create as close to the perfect Barbie dress as I can get! I’ll show you how to cut a long gown and create a pretty ruffle to make a honeymoon dress, an anniversary dress, or a Barbie dress!
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~Catherine - Навчання та стиль
You did very well for your first polyester dye job. I've done quite a bit so here are my tips in no particular order:
1) Larger pot, the larger the better.
2) Wash the garment before dyeing in hot water.
3) Water must be kept at almost boiling the entire time
4) Be prepared to stir the entire dyeing time
5) Presoak your garment in hot water. I use a small amount of dish soap in the soak water as a surfactant. (I use Dawn because it is also a degreaser)
6) In your case, where you knew you were going to cut off the bottom, hold the entire dress above the pot and add the bottom first and get it into the pot as fast as you can. What ever hit the dye bath first usually takes the dye first, but this is when the blotchy happens.
Hope this helps. ♥️
Great info! Thank you!
I agree. The pot was not large enough. That makes a difference.
@@CatherineSews- just re-watching this old video. How about removing every other flower from the back neck detail? And use the removed flowers to cover the stains, but also make a shoulder to hip (or knee) "cascade" that appears deliberate...?
@CatherineSews - sorry, another idea. How about a video talking about your upcycling "not successes"? Like this Barbie dress. Oh, and the red Shein dress where you added the gray. I realize that would be a short video, because you are pretty much always (impressively) successful!!
Next time ( if there is another) have the dress in very warm water before putting in the almost boiling water, the cool water brought down the temperature significantly. Do a lot of stirring while the dress is in the dye liquid. I so admire your adventure in remaking and updating thrifted clothes.
I love how you just GO FOR IT “and see what happens”!
I like how you keep it real with your viewers by showing us when things don't quite turn out. I had no idea how to dye a garment, maybe I'll hold off on that for now.
It's not terribly hard, but I would definitely recommend starting with something small (and kind of working your way up to bigger objects. Lots of agitation helps, and don't make my worst ever mistake: dyeing a skirt deep coral red... not knowing that I needed to follow that up with a product called *color fixative*... And then washing it with whites! 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ I have no idea where my brain was, but most of the color transferred and I accidentally had an entire load of pink clothing. The biggest disappointment was that the skirt faded so much!
I wonder if you could make large fabric daisies from the scraps to cover the uneven color? I think the dress is super cute.
Excellent idea!
I removed the lace from my wedding dress and added it to a jean jacket. Came out terrific. We can give those old dresses new life. Kudos. Yours came out great!!!
My mom used her wedding dress to cover a bassinet for her friends baby in the 1940s. ..nice to reuse material. ❤❤ I myself have been sewing for 53 years now.😂
I can see fabric flowers adorning the stains or large organza flowers. It is a lovely dress and now I want a Barbie dress
So cute! You could try dyeing it again after Halloween to a darker colour like red for valentines.
You could get a dark pink fabric marker and turn those blotches into hearts or flowers. One of my 80s Barbies had a pink ballgown covered in lipstick prints --- pretty much anything goes!
What about some appliqué where the sploges are? If you have any fabric left, perhaps two large daisies with multiple pearl centres.
Definitely always wash a garment before dying. Any residue on the garment. whether it's something that has been spilled, perfume, sweat, etcetera, is going to affect the way the dye is absorbed. If this happens to anyone who really needed the splotched dress, use a dye remover to remove the splotched coloring, wash the dress with just a little gentle detergent, and rinse twice to cleanse it of any residue possibly left before dying again. That dress is so cute though!
I had the same misfortune once with a merino cardi. My fix was dyeing an ombre - I bought an extra couple of dyes, a darker shade of pink and a purple. Then I dip-dyed sections, so I ended up with a gorgeous cardi that was pink at the top, dark pink in the middle and purplish pink at the bottom, all nicely merging into each other. All the blotches magically disappeared. I loved this cardi for years. Come to think of it - I should dig it out and update it again...
Great video- I think after wearing a few times you could upcycle the dress by turning it into a cute corset style summer top to wear with jeans, as the splodges are below the waist.
Do a rolled hem on this with your serger. Then take lace and create medallion sprays where the splotches are. Died lace would be beautiful. You hardly notice the splotches. A spray coming down from the top and one coming up from the bottom would work.
This is what I was thinking. Some sort of lace appliqué, died maybe with pearls.
This is so cute!
I would wear black shoes and a black handbag with pink flowers made from scraps of the dress.
I think the dress may have had an oily stain that had been washed and couldn't be seen, but after some time, it does show up - similar to baby clothes with spit-up stain that have been washed. I think the only thing you could do would be find some lace-embroidered embellishments and place them strategically over the stains. Too bad I couldn't send you my 30 yr.+ pink wedding dress for you to work with! It's a size 12, and I never used it!
Thanks for the video and inspiration! ❤
I was thinking the same as well. the bride probably had sweaty palms, perfume, greasy hands, etc... Maybe rinse the dress first in the washer machine before putting in the dye
so cute! i can't tell from the video, but could you just make a couple fabric flowers from the remnants and artfully place them over the splotches? although that might make it even more costume-y 😂
I'd try again with one more bottle of dye. It might make everything darker, like the spots. I think your pot was too small for the volume of fabric. Maybe even put it in a large plastic rubermaid tub in the bath so it can move freely, even if it cools off a bit. You're so close!
I agree with comments about the dress possibly not being perfectly clean before being dyed! Even if a garment looks clean to the naked eye, it might have residual foreign material on it that will affect dye performance.
I made that very expensive mistake once, too, and was so disappointed.
Even so, the dress looks darling, so have a Happy, very pink Halloween!
Oh, that was so much fun! It's really beautiful, Catherine, and I learned a lot. Here's a choice to divert attention from dye inconsistency: Use DILUTED fabric paint to create asymmetrical vine wandering up the dress adding a few more painted or stenciled daisies (match the existing ones. FIRST STEP in balancing the whole thing: Add a few more areas of "sponged on" diluted pink blotches to provide a backdrop for where the vine will travel,. Sounds like way too much effort for a Halloween costume. Ya never know!
That’s a perfect Barbie costume! I find that dyeing is a total crapshoot but that colour is the most amazing bubble-gum shade. Im definitely going to try this with a thrifted wedding dress. One thing that helps avoid uneven dyeing (assuming the problem isn’t previous stains or bleach) is smaller pieces of fabric that move more easily in the dye. So maybe cut the fabric for the ruffles off first so you have two smaller pieces in the dye pot.
Catherine, I would like to say I admire your gusto into going full head on into a project! You’ve got the tenacity of a pit bull & don’t let go till you get the result you want. It’s great how you don’t give up w/the first attempt because it’s not what you wanted or expected. No, not you. You keep trying & trying til you get the results that you’re looking for.
Great idea and quite a learning curve. Could you have put the dye in the washing machine? Maybe you could have put a binding on the lining to neaten it? It doesn’t matter because the dress turned out fabulous!👍You should make a dress exactly the same for a Barbie doll! Another great video, love them all ❤️
My 6yo and she’s your fan. She really really loved your dress. And she made sure we hit the thumbs up. She wishes you lots of good luck. 😍
It's so pretty! What if you made a sheer apron in white or pink? You could tie it on at the waist and hide the splotch.
Many good tips have been sent. Also, try unraveling the dress before putting it in the pot. Little by little immerse the dress into the dye. This process will help the garment to soak evenly and avoid the tie dye look. Happy sewing for all 😂
It is possible that the dress had invisible spots that absorbed the dye differently, but my instinct is that the pot wasn't big enough. A way around this might have been to off the excess and dye it separately from the body of the dress. The colors might have not matched exactly but they would still go together and look intentional.
I do a lot of dying so I bought a huge tamale pot to use, but I know people who use a large tote bin.
Dying is a fun way to unite fabrics and trims that don't always match. You end up with coordinating colors.
Oooh, a big tamale pot! I'm going to look into that.
I got it at a local Mexican supermarket. I think around Christmas (tamale season?). I only use it for dying and store my dye stuff in it.
A lesson for next time, absolutely use a bigger pot or even your sink. It was too crowded in that pot. I agree with above that there could have been invisible soil or stains on the dress before you died it and the dye absorbed differently in those areas. Maybe washing beforehand would have helped but possibly not. It’s always a surprise when dying.
You should can dye some floral lace and scatter appliques over the dress, covering the uneven spots!
I believe you can take a satin dress as well as satin covered heels to be dyed the same color. I remember some years back a friend took a dress and heels to be dyed to a bridal shop or professional cleaners. You would have to check your local businesses to see if they offer these services. I think you made an awesome dress! Love the ruffle and the flowers!
Catherine, thanks very much for pursuing this project to the end, even though it didn’t work out as planned. I think every project teaches us something that we can use down the road, and sharing the not so good outcomes helps someone else find the best solution. I love how pretty the flowers and little pearl came out! Cheers!
I’m glad you said something about differentiating between sewing over pins between modern computerized and older machines. My Singer 500a and 401a both tell you how to do it in the owners manual! I just go slow. Use the scraps to make rosettes to cover the stain!
So cute. A dyeing ideas: I haven't tried to dye polyester but have dyed lots of silk and wool with weak acid dyes, which also need to be held just below the boiling point for up to 30 minutes. You do need to give the project lots of room to swim. When I saw your pot I thought it might be too small. With the acid dyes I start with cool water and stir constantly as the water comes up to temperature. I have a candy thermometer clipped to the side of the pot and start the timer when the dye reaches temperature. It does mean standing and stirring a lot longer but there is less likelihood of splotching as the dye takes up more slowly and then the heat sets it.
It's really pretty! Perhaps, washing it first in hot water may have helped as there may have been something on the the fabric that wasn't noticeable. Such a great idea.
It should help to have the garment evenly saturated with "hot" water before added to the pot. However, I never have a guaranteed consistent result with home dyeing either. I have the same pot type set up. It's good to see that others end up with the kind of results I have gotten at times. I take a "lets see what we get" approach, and go from there. lol
I love the Barbie dress! You look lovely in it! And it was so sweet in your kitchen! The love kiss!
You make my day!
Best wishes ❤️
Bonnie Ohio..😊
Hi! I have an idea for you that is based on something that I'm doing to rescue a coat. I brushed against a painting at an art center. of course, it was oil paint. I use this for riding my electric bicycle from fall to winter, love its removable quilted lining and its ability to repel rain. My idea was to use iron-on cricut vinyl (in my case, light reflective for extra safety when bicycling). I cut some retro flowers by hand, but I'm hoping to take a class soon to learn to use (and to make use of) a cricut machine. I did a few test flowers, and they really look pretty good! Much better than smeared paint streaks. I don't know much about cricut materials, but maybe you could find a matching or a range of tonal matches that you could layer in a pleasing way to cover streaks while keeping the "barbie" spirit?
I thought of this after watching your recent sweater video where you used remnants of one to embellish the other. (I plan to use this method to cover up a hole that I will mend in a favorite sweater of my own -thank you!) I don't know if you check older posted videos, so I'll also post something similar to this on your more recent sweater video. Thank you very much, Catherine!!!
I love your channel. You are amazing and have taught me so much. I am not a beginner sewer but I am a quilter and tote/purse maker. I want to learn how sew clothes so in that aspect I am a beginner and I thank you for your channel. Please keep teaching us. Fellow Canadian ❤️❤️❤️🇨🇦
Thank you so much for your kind words, Beth! I love hearing from fellow Canadians! I'm in BC. Where are you?
@@CatherineSews I live I. London Ont.I am a life long Ontario dweller. Our entire family lives in Ontario. But we do have relatives that live in BC
I think your way of teaching is so inspiring I have been able to improve my sewing since I have been watching your videos
@@bethsims665 Cool! I was born and raised in Windsor and I have a dear cousin in London!
Hah! Nailed it!!!! I totally love that pink and am quite surprised how EVERYTHING took the dye!!!! You are rocking it, Barbie :)
I totally agree ❤❤❤
You are FEARLESS!!!😊
I loved your idea for altering your dress. Perhaps a lace overlay on the stealth part would hide the uneven dye job.
Oh my gosh, I didn't see YOUR comment and I commented the same suggestion, LOL!
@@ArlenePMCM great minds!
Your dress turned out so pretty! I recently dyed a large piece of a linen blend fabric. I first washed the fabric in hot water with a teaspoon of dish soap. Then I placed the dye into my washing machine and again hot water… I soaked it for 30 minutes… it came out good with no splotches or spots. I don’t know if that would work on polyester or not. I was too lazy to do the pot on the stove part. I use three rows of gathering stitches. The two usual and one just past the seam allowance… that way, I am stitching between the bottom two rows and it allows great control of the gathers. Then I just pull them all out after the seam is done. Hope that makes sense. 😂❤ Diann
I am very impressed you finished the project. Toys would be out the pram if that was me 😂. And it looks lovely 🥰 you could always make a waist tie to cover the blotches or just try a belt.
I haven't had a lot of luck with dye, except small projects. I think you did a great job, and the little splotches are not going to make it unwearable for Halloween. The flowers at the neckline are what are going to attract the eye, those are nice.
I dye in the washing machine - haven't had splodges....
@@katieduffy593yes i dyed in my washer and it dyed perfectly.
Oh I so wish I could take classes from you!!!!! 🎉❤
Your braver than I. I've never tried dying but having watch lots of youtubers do it I think leave to someone else! Overall it really turned out cute
I'd use some fabric paint in a close shade of pink to paint some dasies over the splitches. Any slight splotches would give it a water okor effect
You could try a diagonal of cascading flowers from the left hip down to the ruffle? Making it wrap around the hip I think would make it look like it is ment to be there? A floral belt might take away from the darker spots. It would maybe focus more on above the belt than below the belt? On screen it looks like from the left hip ?
That's exactly what I was thinking! And if there's no more leftover fabric, the flowers could be lace/crochet flowers!
*hey girl, i did this with a sweater and had to stir stir stir for 30 mins while dying my garmet and it came out blotchy as well, but i redied and left it in over night and it worked! Just made sure I had something to weight the garmet down overnight. of course I didn't keep the heat on it but turned off the heat and just left it sit all night. I did use couple more packets but it worked!* Tottenham Ontario Canada
Fantastic and fun! It was interesting to see your dye process. I think it's a fun experiment. And don't worry about those uneven marks they could've been in worse positions 😉. I always really enjoy watching your videos. 🇨🇦
What a delightful project 🎉. I agree that, since it's a costume, try for more splotches. It would look lovely in black or another darker colour though, if you're attending a wedding.
Love your dress!
I am so glad to have found your videos. You are so inspirational!!! I love to dye fabric and found this video very helpful! Love the dress/costume!
Hi Catherine: nice pink, I have a lot of fabric dye fails under my best, and now I dip my fabric several times so I know there are no bunches. You could go with applique daisy's to match the top lace to cover the splotches...does look nice with the ruffles!!!!
So cute! I think you needed a much larger pot so the dress could move freely inside. What if you made a full pink lace overlay to cover the bottom half of dress?
I bought a non-toxic dye in France (made in France) and dyed a cotton top while staying with my parents over there last August. The process was super easy: put the powder in the washer, add the fabric, run a cycle, then run a second cycle with detergent and a final one without the fabric to rinse out any residue from the washer. No mess, no need to stir anything. It worked out wonderfully, but I decided against trying it in the U.S. since the washers here operate very differently, with cycles much shorter (30 minutes vs over 2 hours), and the water (hot and cold) coming directly from the faucet rather than being gradually heated in the washer. The polyester thread didn’t get dyed, of course, so I redid the over stitching , and… used a Sharpie for the button holes, inspired by what you did in the Chanel jacket thrift video! I have washed the top several times since and everything stayed the same, so I am very happy. For those who are interested, the link to the brand that makes the dye is here:
teinturehautecouture.com/en
Anyway, I really enjoyed this video, thanks for sharing the Barbie dress adventure!
Just be "hostess" Barbie and add an apron to cover the splotches. My gut instinct tells me that perhaps you needed to wash the fabric before dying it, not simply getting it wet. It is highly possible that the splotch which looked like you spilled salad dressing was in fact that and that the dress was not properly washed to get rid of the oils. Nonetheless it is a great idea and learning experience. And I am with the person who said double stitching when doing gathers! A great old school technique glad you revisited it.
Barbie girl you rock the outfit…….luv Luv it ❤ Robyn
How fun! I love both the original dress and the remake. To avoid splotches, I recommend dyeing the fabric in the washing machine.
12:30 Try. Redo- remove ruffle, add diagonal strips of lace over dress… choose placement of lace strips to cover your bad spots but NOT in a pattern.. end with a pencil style hemline with a slit on one or both sides… maybe?
Using flounce fabric for strips might be too bulky… I’m thinking a matching or slight contrasting lace…
I just made 2 skirts from an old wedding dress for a witches event. One from the bottom and the other from the train on the bottom. I was going to dye them purple but was debating whether to do it in the machine or in a pot. I think I’ll try the washing machine because they are so big and fluffy! 🙏🏻🤞
Love it!!
Adorable!
What about using self adhesive rhinestones to cover the spilled salad dressing. You create like a starburst effect, with some of the explosion parts creating a smaller or bigger starburst if there is one that is close enough
You could try to salvage it for a real evening dress by getting a dye bleach (comes in same bottles as the dye), bleach it, then dye it again. Whatever salad dressing, etc., was in the original fabric is likely to be eliminated with the bleach process. I think that’s how most professional dye jobs go, namely bleach first regardless.
What a fun project!! Thank you for the tips on the baby hem and ruffles (Gathering) !! 😊
So beautiful.
Great costume!!💕
It looks great and here you go, ready for the Barbie movie! Gorgeous!
You are perfect in pink.
really pretty ! lokks a little bit like batikcoloring
So fun
Amazing work
So cute!
Love it.
Yes, a larger vessel would've helped with way the dye took to the dress. It looks like you may have had some "pockets" of fabric with some dye trapped inside.
Of course you figured a fabulous work around!💗
I love this one ! Things to learn re sewing and resizing possibilities and a very helpful warning re what can go wrong with home dying ( all my attempts at even colour had similar results- great with tie dying and purposeful random colours.. creative fun)
You’ll rock the Barbie look on Halloween 🎃 must’ve meant to be 🎀🌸💝😊
I love this! ❤️❤️❤️
Oh good! You were the inspiration for the project so I’m glad you like it!!
I loved watching your process.!! I felt for you when you said you were going to dye 100% poly. I had my fingers crossed, thats a tough process and outcome.
I probably would have wacked it at the waist and added some kind of sleeve and made it a blouse lol.
Generally, if I am dying fiber, it takes the dye better if it's been soaked first. I think if you had soaked your dress before putting it into the dye, the dye may have been distributed more evenly because it wouldn't have grabbed more in the places where it touched first. But it may be one of those situations where you are the only one who notices.
PS I somehow deleted the last bit. I meant to add that it may be a situation where only you notice if you are sure to hold your cute Barbie clutch purse in front. 😅
Catherine, isn't there a product which captures dye that has turned your laundry a color, like when a red sock sneaks into the whites? Maybe that would help even out your fabric tone.
I did wonder about that. But if I strip the dye, then I'll want to re-dye it pink again, so then I might end up in the same situation!
There is a product by Rit called Color Remover. Basically it strips out the dye and you can re-dye your dress. I would re-dye in a larger container. The reason you had splotches is because your dress didn't have enough room in your pot...however, since the dress is now shorter you might have more room. IDK. Another option though would be to purposefully splotch the rest of the dress instead. You might even be able to use the other pink dye you bought.
❤
Love your vidtos!!
Would a washing machine dye have worked better?
Love the idea! 😊
So cute! Looks great.
Getting dye even is very difficult. If you find out any tips, let us know. Even when I'm super careful to stir and stir and stir, I get blotches.
Fiber reactive dyes for cotton are nice because they can be done cold.
It's tough to trick computerized washers into agitating for an extended period of time which would be perfect, but then you have to run a load of towels or rags on hot.
I do 2 lines of gathering stitches 3/8" and 3/4" so then I make a 5/8" seam it is between the gathering stitches. Then remove the 3/4" row of stitching.
Also have you seen the Ban-Roll trick for making a narrow hem?
Would a bow on a belt cover the one area with more dye? Cute dress.
Was wondering if instead of the ruffle use the extra to make a peplum or a sash across to cover that part where you don’t like the color like a rushing around your waist or are crossed I don’t know, but it looks pretty thank you❤
Maybe get some stencils and spray the strange color areas with bleach and do something like that or a some applique 😊
I totally forgive you! You still did an amazing job. Stunning dress!
I don't know what to do about the blotches. What I have learned about dying is that a vinger bath sets dye on synthetic fibres and salt sets it on natural fibres. Dye will not wash out afterwards.
💖💖💖💖💖
My guess is that the dress wasn’t clean to begin with so it took the dye oddly.
That’s what I thought as well. Or maybe there were stains removed there and the chemicals messed with the dye. So unfortunate
Too bad on the dye 😢. That dress fits you like a glove now! I’m guessing there were stains removed in those spots and it mess3d with the dY. Don’t think you did a bad dye job…
I think a bigger vat would have helped. I know it’s a hassle finding something huge and heating the water, etc.!
I have done very little dying but it’s a bit. I have done is usually not satisfactory.😢
I was thinking that too. Wondering if washing it again will make a diff!!
I think the dress should have been washed with a good amount of detergent and then thouroughly rinsed (double what you would usually do). If there are any treatmenst on the fabric they will be washed out (or residue from chemical cleaning), those can also prevent even dying. And maybe dying in the washing machine would have been an option. Or organising an even larger pot.
Could you place a ruffle to fall where the bad dye occurs?
Put some big pink fabric flowers over the stain spots.
Heyo!!
That's quite a shirt, by the way! haha
Lesson number 1 ... always store the used dye until after the garment is dry. If it’s uneven you can re dye it a second time.
Oh, that is the best tip. Thank you!
Love the dress. Sorry the dye job didn’t look right but you have a perfect costume! -Claudia