I Can Work With That; Refashions by Chickie W.U.: The Dyed Velvet Skirt

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

The Dyed Velvet Skirt

Hello Readers. This post is about a great skirt. It didn't start out great but it became great. It doesn't even look like the same skirt in the pictures below, but I promise it really is. Read on and see for yourself.

I can't remember how this tan Eddie Bauer velvet-like skirt even came to be in my stash but I have had it for a while. It was in great shape but it was too big and too long. The color isn't very exciting but tan is a great classic color. I already have a tan skirt and I don't need or want a second one.

My first step was to cut off the bottom of this skirt. I knew I wanted to shorten it so I cut off quite a bit to get the extra fabric out of my way.

Can you spot the dog paw?

My second step in this refashion was to cook up a dye bath. I love Rit dye. You can use it in the washing machine if you have a top loading machine. I have a front loader, so my skirt needs to sit in a bucket of hot water and dye. I chose dark brown because it will cover this tan color and I don't have a brown skirt.

I followed the directions on the bottle as closely as I follow any directions. (I don't like being told what to do. "Your not the boss of me!")

I had to stir the skirt around continuously for 10-15 minutes. I got a little too forceful with my stirring and this little mess happened. Oops! I was terrified that I got it in my hair but I was OK.

Stir gently but continuously.

Here is my skirt after two washes to get rid of the excess dye. I lightened the picture up a little so you can see the stitching didn't take the dye and it is a nice contrast to the dark brown color.

I took a little off each side and gave it a new hem. It didn't fray at all, I think I could have left the hem as a raw cut but I wanted it to look more finished.