Silk, or not. Loose Gown, or not.
Well, the silk disintegrated, leaving floating bits of something small, so I think it was a silk blend. The Rit dye sample went darker then the blue, but as I used purple, it is very purple. There are a couple of small blobs of the blue that didn't take the purple dye, that look rather electric blue compared to the purple.
So, I will head out tomorrow for some Rit dark blue or maybe a dark green. I know that dark green, like a deep forest green, looks good with the gold kirtle, as that's the color of the wool I bought is. Or I may just say heck to it all, and dye it black for that period Wealthy Person look, which always looks good with gold. I have black powder at least. Yeah, I think I will make this one black (but I reserve the right to change my mind, since I really love jewel tone colors.) Black at least will match everything, even if it is hot to wear in the summer. I think I still have some black velvet or velveteen, too, for the guards.
Just thinking about this fabric... it is silk broadcloth, so it does not have the shine of a satin or even a taffeta or dupioni. It is flat matte silk, so contrasting it to velvet will not give a proper period look of shiny contrasted with matte, it will just be all matte. So... what to do.
I have 5 yards of it. I could dye it darker blue, and use it for the Stormwatch coat, as originally intended, but I don't want to use a silk for that anymore (not for something otherwise covered in man-made fibers). I could make a modern garment out of it (dyed to a jewel tone), and find something else for the gown. Actually I have the flannel wool I already bought for the gown, but I wanted something not so heavy for summertime use, and thought this would do it. I am going to have to sit on this fabric, and do some thinking... again. At least I have other minor hand sewing things I need to finish up to keep me busy for now.
So, I will head out tomorrow for some Rit dark blue or maybe a dark green. I know that dark green, like a deep forest green, looks good with the gold kirtle, as that's the color of the wool I bought is. Or I may just say heck to it all, and dye it black for that period Wealthy Person look, which always looks good with gold. I have black powder at least. Yeah, I think I will make this one black (but I reserve the right to change my mind, since I really love jewel tone colors.) Black at least will match everything, even if it is hot to wear in the summer. I think I still have some black velvet or velveteen, too, for the guards.
Just thinking about this fabric... it is silk broadcloth, so it does not have the shine of a satin or even a taffeta or dupioni. It is flat matte silk, so contrasting it to velvet will not give a proper period look of shiny contrasted with matte, it will just be all matte. So... what to do.
I have 5 yards of it. I could dye it darker blue, and use it for the Stormwatch coat, as originally intended, but I don't want to use a silk for that anymore (not for something otherwise covered in man-made fibers). I could make a modern garment out of it (dyed to a jewel tone), and find something else for the gown. Actually I have the flannel wool I already bought for the gown, but I wanted something not so heavy for summertime use, and thought this would do it. I am going to have to sit on this fabric, and do some thinking... again. At least I have other minor hand sewing things I need to finish up to keep me busy for now.