To Dye For. Part 1

So a good friend is getting married at the end of the month. Her only requests is that the ladies wear red and  gold.  Reasonable. I however am not a reasonable person, and could not find a red summer dress that I liked within my budget.  Thus I begin my project.

 About a month of online shopping and tearing through every store I can think of that would sell a red dress left me empty handed. Though I will admit i could have settled for a handful of dresses that would have made me look like a Christmas Hooker  (shinny, poly blend, mini dresses)  I was relentless.  The hot color this summer I quickly discovered was not red, but orange or coral.


And then I found it.........a white dress on the J.Crew clearance racks. Yes white.

Just the right fit. A line, knee length and has POCKETS. 

100% Cotton

Enter Rit Dye.

I have used Rit Dye since I was a kid and used to tye dye t-shirts every summer at my cottage. It is inexpensive and very effective.  I went on the Rit Dye site and looked up some tips and chose a color combination to go with.  I wanted a warm red versus cool, a warm orangey-red. So using their handy dandy color formula guide I found #500 Warm Red,  A combination of Tangerine and Scarlet Rit Dye. 

$8

Now the fun part, you will need a large bucket, measuring cup, and something to stir with.

5 Gallon Bucket

I wanted a orangey red so I used 2 parts tangerine one part scarlet in about 3 gallons of water.  I left the dress in for about 30 minutes, I want a saturated color so I left it in the maximum time.  Make sure the cloth is stirred frequently to ensure even color.

dress in the dye mixture

Once the dress is removed from the dye it must be rinsed until the water runs clear, which will take a while.   Results will follow......