My first dip dye dress, called ‘Phoenix’ was designed and made as a romantic ivory silk and tulle wedding dress for another shoot but was perfect to upcycle as a canvas for the colours of autumn. Sustainability and un-needful waste in the fashion world are causes that run deep in my philosophy so recreating a dress into a new incarnation was not a compromise but part of the basic premise.
As a labour of love I spent 7 hours spraying six colours (with the lace trim carefully masked) to produce the final ‘dip-dye’ effect of the finished article.
The sample dress pictured has now been sold but this dress can be made to order from £3300. Please get in touch to discuss your bespoke requirements.
Dipdye Trends
‘Dip-dye- has been quite a wedding trend (not to mention for hair styles and home furnishings too) in 2016 and 2017. But in fact a true dip-dye is almost impossible on most wedding dresses. Only natural fibres can be dyed and many dresses, even high priced, high quality ones, are made of man-made fabrics. The tulle of this dress is polyester, though the fabric beneath is silk so dying-proper was not an option.
In fact most ‘dip-dye’ or ‘ombre’ wedding dresses have been sprayed, not dyed and so I followed suit. After some careful research (asking people who might know) I opted for a florists spray called ‘Oasis’. The florist working with us on the photoshoot (Michelle Knibbs of Muscari Whites) kindly donated me the spray cans from her stash.
The original dress
Here is the dress before work began… virgin as from the previous photoshoot and modelled here by yours truly!
Upcycle design with colour
Here was the design I had in my head, though some of this didn’t come through in the final look. The other creatives on the team were less keen than I to go all the way with large leaf headdresses and curling ivy tendrils. I love flights of fantasy, but a ‘realistic, if unusual wedding’ look was also part of the premise!
Below an image of the very famous ‘dip-dyed’ (but actually sprayed) wedding dress that went viral in 2016 and was the starting point for all this work. And some lovely autumn coloured leaves, which I loved as my inspiration palette! The dress below dress goes all through to blue at the hem, but ours was not trying to be a copy, the similarity in colours is only co-incidental as our Autumn theme demanded the yellow, orange and red!
Dress Colouring: www.taylorannart.com
Photo: www.jamestangphotography.com
Starting the colour work
…and here I am all set to go with the dress outside on plastic ready for spraying
Oasis Floral Spray
First I did a spray test on some fabric samples, using the same silk, tulle and lace.
You can buy this spray, and others similar from most floral wholesalers. I often buy from Trevor Green and direct from the Oasis website too.
I was very lucky with the weather and able to work all day layering up colour with drying periods in between. So next I masked the lace trim with tape and set to work.
Layering from below the lace trim I started with two shades of yellow and then orange and the first shade of red.
I worked outwards towards the hem, the bands of colour widening as I came round the back of the train. Three shades of red were graduated into a touch of purple at the very edge, which makes the yellow at the other end of the rainbow really ‘pop’.
I sprayed and sprayed, not just each colour, but also the same colours again as second and third coats, moving the tulle around as I worked to ensure it was coated evenly and without any bare patches.
Finishing off
Once I was finished spraying I removed the tape and decided to add one very light layer of yellow over the lace trim and just above. The effect was very subtle, but just enough that the lace did not seem to harsh and sudden a contrast with the colour below.
The finished dress was not quite as saturated with colour as I would have liked. But I was limited on both time available (with another two dresses still to make for the shoot) and the spray cans ran out! You can see can another coat would have filled those paler areas, but for the shoot we were good to go!
For many more images from the official photographer on the photoshoot, and the other dresses I designed see the portfolio entry…
felicitywestmacottcouk.wordpress.com/portfolio/photoshoot-frost-on-the-leaves
Photography by Jessica Jill Partridge, Modelled by Keely Simeoni
This dress is available to hire for photoshoots, or to buy for a wedding or as costume. Please contact me direct for rates and terms and conditions, pertaining to purchase and hire.
A shot from behind the scenes creating the image above. So much is in the fantasy!
The plastic cover for the ground in my garden wasn’t perfect but the spray I got on the paving proved very attractive to our photographer who made good use of it in quite a few close up and detail pictures!
Creatives
with thanks to all the other creatives on the photoshoot team!
Photography: Jessica Jill Partridge,
Dresses made & designed by Felicity Westmacott
Styling by Jessica of www.foxandpartridge.com
Models Katja Cemic, Keely Simeoni and Isabella Crighton
Hair styling by Very Bettie
Make up by www.charlottemuapro.com,
Bespoke Shoes by Marsha Hall
Jewellery by Vicky Forrester
Veil and headpieces by Jen Levet
Floristry by Michelle Knibbs of Muscari Whites
Garden wreath byThe Girl who Gardens
Ada RamirezHow would you wash the dress with the colors. I have colored my dress but now its been a year since I have done the project and not its wrinkly.
woozelsmudgeWhat did you use to colour the your dress? If it was the oasis spray like my example I’m afraid washing is not an option. I have tried washing a sample I coloured with the oasis spray and though it didn’t ‘run’ (i.e colour didn’t wash into uncoloured areas) it did fade significantly and unevenly. Not a good look! Plus some areas of the fabric perished. Though I don’t know if that was just from washing a delicate fabric (test was in the machine) or from an effect of the spray on the fibres.
For wrinkles though – ironing is safe. I have pressed fabrics coloured with oasis many times and it’s never caused a problem. The colour doesn’t melt off or crack or anything. Just make sure you have the iron on a setting that is safe for the fabric – don’t melt your poly satin or delicate tulle!
If you used a different method to colour your dress I’d need to know more before advising.
MaudeHow many cans of spray did you end up using?
woozelsmudgeHi, It’s hard to say exactly as I started with some partly used cans. But 2 of each colour (six colours) should be enough to reproduce the effect. 🙂
AlexandriaDid the spray make the fabric feel crunchy or stuff in any way?
woozelsmudgeHi, Yes, the spray does change the texture and weight of the fabric. For this reason it only really works well on ‘open’ fabrics like tulle or lace. On woven fabrics the colour goes on as layer of paint and can crack and make the fabric crunchy. On net and tulle is still changes but there is so little ‘fibre’ and so much ‘space’ in the fabric that the change is much less noticeable. If I’m making something that will be sprayed I always use a medium weight tulle, not a super-soft one, to reduce the contrast of uncoloured and coloured fabric.
woozelsmudgefurther to my reply below, this was a dress made of super-soft tulle and so when the colour was added th coloured areas were noticeable stiffer to touch and hung differently to before/the uncoloured areas. There are videos in this link so you can see movement. I note though that the bride was over the moon and did not think the change in texture a deal-breaker in terms of choosing to have the work done or thinking it worth the pay-off!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vvbtnGwPkmpWnUo46