I Dyed and Went Blue

Ok so the original title of this post was “I dyed and went to blue heaven” which I thought was real punny.  But then, I tried on the actual dress, and realized that I am so not in heaven.  I love the color, but I am so mad at myself because I shrunk the dress.

I bought this dress in 2010 for my wedding to Mr. Lucky.  I wanted something relatively simple, short, and close.  I found this dress at Macy’s and got it for a great price.

Bride and Groom

I don’t think white is a particularly flattering color on me since I’m so pale.   Thanks to inspiration all over blog land I thought I could dye the dress so that I could re-wear it.  I wanted a color that I knew looked good on me- any of the jewel tones or a blue.  I found Bahama Blue by Dylon at JoAnn’s.

Dylon Bahama Blue

The reason I went with this brand is because it said it could work on polyester blends.  My dress was mostly polyester, and the package said it could come out lighter.  I bought two packets and crossed my fingers.  I don’t have any pics of the process, but it was fairly straightforward and messy.  I used an old cat litter bucket (very thoroughly washed out), and followed the directions on the packet.  After lifting it out I decided to put it back in for a bit longer (and unfortunately I don’t remember how long).

I rinsed the dress, and tried to ring it out as gingerly as I could.  I set it through a cycle of cold water in the washing machine, and when it came out it was soaking.  I tried air drying it for a while, but ended up getting a HUGE pile of water on the floor.  I couldn’t take it, and stuck it in the dryer on the lowest setting for a looooong time.

So the good news is, it pretty much worked.  The dye stuck to the poly blends, and there are just a few tiny spots where the color is uneven.  I don’t think it’s noticeable however, because of the pattern and layering of the dress.  The bad news is I shrunk it.  Just a bit too much for me to actually wear it.  Mr. (un)Lucky said that maybe I had gained some weight since the wedding…  how sensitive.  I know for a fact I weigh the same, I’m no more than three pounds heavier.  So… I’m not feeling so lucky at the moment.  I ruined this dress for myself to wear again.  I think I’ll give it to Goodwill and hopefully someone smaller than me (about a size 4 or 6) could have some fun in it.

Dyed Dress

In this picture it looks OK but it doesn’t close all the way in the back.  Lesson learned- when something is made out a coupe types of poly and and it says Dry Clean Only, maybe I shouldn’t try washing it…

I linked up to these parties:  Thrifty Decor Chick