Shear Dress

Okay, so quilts are boring. The quilt will be worked on when no sewing is to be at hand. So probably not frequently.

Me and zee bug will be going to the Greater Bay Area Costumers Guild's Barbecue at 12 Oaks. She will be wearing her Dickens fair outfit. The only thing near that moment in history I have is a half assed outfit I made for Dickens. Had a plaid flounced petticoat turn out so well I make a bodice to go with it. The problem was the hoops for the outfit are HUGE, 1865 elliptical. With an 1850's bodice. Which bugged me greatly. My accuracy vanity demands a a new outfit.

I have 3 sets of hoops - narrow, 85" bell shaped, giant 130" elliptical and modern bridal, 110". The modern stuff is dead to me. So narrow hoops it is, which is more in line with day wear from what I have read.

I wanted something easy and light weight, which means shear and letting the fabric do the work for me. I spent many hours while recovering from the flu looking for a perfect border print fabric - from Etsy to Saree shops. Never found that perfect wiz bang fabric that came with the 18 yards of border print that I needed. Kept eluding me - like the perfect print lawn, but with copper metallic highlights throughout. Or only the single perfect 9 yard Saree. Damn. So last weekend I did the local fabric shop tour - Stonemountain and Daughter to Discount Fabrics.

I found a lovely number at Discount Fabrics, windowpane silk organza. No tiered skirt, but the fabric should be lovely. Looked more pinky in their light, but decidedly beige once I got it home. Which will not work for my skin tone or for period. Nothing to do but dye. Lavender.

So today I did a huge North Bay tour of the Bay Area - Dharma Trading in San Rafeal for some fabric die and silk ribbon, an aborted errand in SF for some stuff left at the In-Laws, back to Discount Fabrics in Berkley to get some extra fabric so I can make a ball gown bodice if I want, and off to Lacis so I can get my dress pattern. And coffee with a friend so I could buy a lovely lavender spoon 

bonnet she happened to be selling at the right moment.

So tonight I am dying my fabric. Have never done this before, not for an entire dress. I just washed it with a color removing agent, which doesn't seem to have worked. Not the end of the world, but I was hoping for a blank canvas. Was hoping I could get the fabric and ribbon near identical, like you see in period garments, but it looks likes I will be over dying instead. Am soooo hoping the ribbon ends up darker.