Natural dyeing fabric is always exciting. Indigo dyeing is extra magical because it is done in a fermentation vat and the colour appears when the fibre is removed from the vat and oxygen hits it. You literally see the colour change and appear as it is exposed to the air. I was hoping that our Bamboo Knit Jersey would work with Indigo and I was super excited to find out that it takes the dye perfectly.
I had originally wanted to make some Indigo dyed leggings, but I couldn’t resist looking for a dress pattern when I saw how beautiful the large piece of Bamboo looked with the Indigo overdyed on it.
With the success of my Bamboo Jersey Moneta, I was feeling ready to tackle some of the more simple patterns from my Drape Drape 2 book. The second dress in the book couldn’t be more easy! The pattern is cut from just a single piece of fabric with only two seams to sew. I did those seams on my serger and used my Maxilock Stretch Thread. I’m addicted to using this thread on my knit projects. I finished the neck line and arm holes with bias jersey binding and used my twin needle to top stitch the binding down. The book recommends just folding and hemming the armholes, but I prefer a bound finish. I also used my twin needle to hem the dress. (Regular thread through the needles and Maxilock Stretch Thread in my bobbin)
This is such a fun dress to sew and to wear. It’s really comfortable and looks more advanced than it really is.
Now that the workroom has all the Drape Drape books in English, I’m scouting for my next pattern. I know the idea of sewing with knits is a bit daunting, but once you get started you won’t want to stop!
Mannish Style – available at the workroom Dress 12 : silk shibori dyed in logwood Oh boy, was I ever excited last week when I remembered that I had this…
Thursday night, Julie hosted a fun backyard dyeing party for the students from the Advanced Natural Dyeing class. During the class we weren’t able to get the zinc lime indigo…
One of our many new classes is an Advanced Natural Dyeing class. Many of the past Natural Dyeing students wanted a next level class where they could explore more dyestuffs…
Here it is, my indigo-dyed, shibori dress. I’m so in love with it. When choosing the pattern for this project, I wanted to choose a fairly simple dress that had…
The last day of the Natural Dyeing class was all about indigo dyeing. I’ve always admired Japanese shibori dyeing, so I couldn’t wait to try it out in this class.…