It sucks so much, the color on my webcam is really bad, so you can't see, but it's a light forest green. But anywho, here's the skirt I sewed all by myself for the first time this week: And here's a pic of the painting I did in the bottom right corner:
Here's the other one I just made an hour ago...The dye job didn't work out so great, I guess the fabric wasn't too great, but it ended up accidently in some neat designs that I might paint to fill it...If you wanna look close, near the bottom wear the dye wouldn't work, it kinda looks neatAgain, the color sucks on my camera but you get it!
Ah thank you my friendI have so much fun making them, and they only take, like, not even two hours, including dyeing time.
well done, sunburst! I used to make my own skirts out of vintage pillowcases. BTW, Lakeoffire, did anyone tell you that you resemble janis joplin (if that's your picture in your sig.)?
I think you did a good job on the skirts--especially for your first try...you should post a picture of yourself wearing them, because what they look like on a person is vastly different (and much more important) than what they look like on the floor. Also, remember the 3-foot rule: if you don't notice anything from three feet away (and get a friend to "notice," because you will notice every flaw, even from 10 feet away, because you made it...I have people compliment me on my clothes, and I want to tell them about all the mistakes I made, which are obvious to me, but obviously not to them...) then they're perfect! as for the dye...my only advice is that you should check what kind of fabric you're using vs. what kind of dye you're using...some fabrics (especially blends) need specific dyes, and RIT doesn't work on everything. Also, you should wash your fabric with synthrapol before dyeing it, because it gets all the invisible gunk, which can interfere with the dye setting, off of it. If you add soda ash to the vat about 30-50 minutes into the dye process (again, check the directions on your particular dye) it will help the colors set, and they'll probably only need one separate wash (i.e. without leaking on to your other clothes). Both soda ash and synthrapol are relatively cheap (I'd say about $5-$10 each, but they'll last you through MANY dye jobs), and worth it for the evenness of color. You should check out www.dharmatrading.com and your skirts ARE awesome. alyce
Ooooh okay, thanks for the info! Yeah, apparently cotton is the best fabric for dyeing, but this stuff is 100% unbleached, natural cotton, so I dunno. It's strange... Oh! Haha guess who has no life, tons of fabric, and a new addiction? lol I made yet another one, and will get a pic of this one once my cam is working again... I bought this brown and yellow really beautiful fabric with flowers on it, and sewed it into a pretty skirt. I did try to get pics of me wearing the skirt, but they looked dumb cuz the cam was blurry whe I went far anough away for you to see it...
Yeah, cotton takes dye really well...it usually takes less dye to color cotton than it does to color other materials...but little patches of dirt and grease (even if you can't see it, it's still there, especially if your fabric comes directly off the bolt at a store & hasn't been washed--and sometimes even if it has been washed, because soap scum, etc. will stick to it) will make the dye come out really funky...I had this problem with this pair of my grandpa's old Navy pants that I wanted to dye purple. They had recently been washed, but I didn't use Synthrapol (this was before I found out about it) and the color came out dark and beautiful, but full of uneven, lighter patches. I was really frustrated & haven't gotten around to dyeing the pants again, but I will someday! And I'll wash them in synthrapol this time! I want to see your skirts! People who sew are cool!
Thank you Once my crappy webcam starts working again, I'll post another pic, and then perhaps some of me wearing them... I made yet another on elast night...lordy! I can't stop! That's 4 skirts in, like, one week! It's sooo fun and I love them and I'm becoming addicted....
man, sewing IS addictive! And once you get into sewing, fabric shopping (be it in a fabric store, online, or at a thrift store) is addictive. There are so many possibilities in one piece of fabric! I swear I haven't purchased new clothes in three years, but my closet is overflowing with fabric (& clothes that I've made). I wish I had enough time to make 4 skirts in a week. (Although, because it's summer vacation, I've actually had more time than ususal to sew...and I've been taking advantage of it!) I'm currently working on this maxi coat (the pattern was printed somewhere around 1970) that has lining, underlining, mild tailoring (I've never made a tailored garment before, so this is a new experience), etc. I'm making it out of this cool corduroy fabric that my mom got me a few years ago (the obsession with fabric & sewing runs in my family, lucky for me!) that is chestnut brown with black, blue, and cream stripes, in an uneven pattern. It has princess seams and a little, pointed collar, and, once I hem it, should JUST clear the ground (I don't want it to drag, because, although it would look cool, it would also wear out quickly). This coat has been dragging on for about 2 weeks so far, and I'm only about halfway through it...
And man, I know! I work near walmart, so half the time I leave for work early so I can go out and get more fabricI haven't been working a lot lately, so i've had muchos time to sew
nice skirts....i love making my own clothes. I'm trying to master patchwork now, but I'm not having much luck in anything I can be proud of.
I actually like the second one better. The part that didn't dye look like a batik or something. MAybe a vague spider pattern. That flowered fabric is cool too.
Yeah, I like it, the accident actually turned out good! Like it reminds me of a butterfly on one side, and a flower type thing on the other..
