For this bride, I created a Chinese fusion wedding dress with red dip dye. The result was a bold and beautiful bridal look, with lots of eye-catching details.
There are two ways I can dip dye dresses. One involves spraying the fabric whilst gently overlapping and blending the colours, I do this as the final step, once I’ve finished making the dress. And the other is what I would call ‘true’ dip dye. This involves dyeing the fabric with liquid dyes in hot water before or after I make the dress depending on construction and end effect wanted. For bride, Mack, we went for the classic wet dip-dye technique, applied before the fabric was made up into the dress, to make this stunning red to blush dip dye wedding gown. The red unevenly crept up the silk chiffon, stopping higher in some places than others, creating a beautiful organic-looking effect.
I really love all the structural elements of this dress: the halter neck, the bodice that was evenly pleated across the body in flattering lines and the sweetheart neckline. The dress was fitted to the lower hip with an asymmetric shaped seam rising to a point higher on one side.
All of these details result in this dress being a real showstopper – unique, fun but still elegant and beautiful.
Photography – Belle Photo Journey
Making a Wedding Dress with Red Dip Dye
After the design is agreed, the next step to any dressing making process is the toile. The toile is a rough draft of the dress before I begin cutting into the real fabrics. For Mack, I also made a trial run of the dip dye tendrils that would make up the waterfall skirt before we committed to the colours. A bride has to use their imagination to see the full vision, and then put their trust in me to realise that vision. I think we made the right choice, don’t you?
Beyond the dip dyeing, there were other complex techniques to apply to the dress. For the bodice we wanted a pleated effect. What I did isn’t technically pleating – I actually used strips of bias cut silk dupion, ironed them in half, then placed them onto the bodice in an interleaved fan shape, before sewing them down. It’s quite a precise science to get the end result looking high end and couture.
Real dip dyeing techniques requires a lot of time, patience and precision. There’s mixing the right amount of dye into the water to get the right shade. Then slowly pulling out the fabric so that the gradient is even. And then making sure that the water temperature is just right – too cool and the dye won’t set properly and too hot will ruin the delicate fabric. As well as dyeing the main sections of the skirt, I also made a few extra tendrils in single colours to add in later.
All that effort is always worth it in the end. Especially for this dress, where adding the dip dye really accentuated the floaty waterfall chiffon elements. This style of skirt always makes me think of jellyfish, in the best way.
The Finished Bespoke Wedding Dress
The final result on the dress stand, waiting for Mack to come and collect. I love the contrast of the straight lines of the pleats and the flowy shapes of the skirt. As well as the final embellishments, like the white and red floral lace to tie everything together.
I really enjoyed designing and making this Chinese fusion wedding dress with red dip dye. To be able to combine the different parts of a bride’s identity into her bridal look feels so special, and I feel like this was the perfect blend of the different parts of what makes her her.
Looking for more vibrant dip dye inspiration? Have at peep at this gorgeous Santorini blue dip dye wedding dress I also made.
If you have questions about the process of ordering a dip dyed wedding dress, I have a handy FAQ. Or if you feel like you’re ready to take the next step into making your wedding dress dreams a reality, you can book a consultation with me. It’s free and there’s no obligation to commit to anything we discuss.
