dyeing a vintage DuBarry

D

dale jenssen

Registered Guest
I have a formerly fabulous DuBarry gown. The color has faded in places, and has problems in the under-arm area. It is a medium teal blue. Has anyone had any luck dying such an item? It is rayon with bugle beads. Thought that if I dyed it black it might again look good. thanks!!
 
Hi Dale, and welcome to the VFG.

Firstly, there are some issues with your fabric - how old is it and what sort of weave? A pre'50s rayon may shrink and tear if you dye it using water, and an a rayon satin or taffeta will crease up and lose its crispness. For these reasons, many early rayons are best dry cleaned, and so dyeing them will be hard or impossible.

Secondly, dyeing is not an effective remedy to colour fade as the new colour should be distributed evenly and so there will still be a difference where the fade was. One possibility is to dye it the deepest black, so the unevenness will be harder to see or apply something specifically to the affected areas - but this can be problematic too as whatever you applies needs to be colourfast so it doesn't come out when you wash it.

I generally recommend either a) living with colour fade or b) covering it with embellishments of some sort. You may like to read my blog posts on dyeing vintage fabrics and sun damage, although I suspect the cause of your fade is from unstable dyes rather than exposure to sun but the post still includes some useful information.
 
Nicole, thanks for the info. I'm guessing this dress is from the 40's. Rayon crepe. And yes, some of the fade is from sun damage, I'm afraid. Years ago my sister had a similar DuBarry that was pretty big. She had it dyed, and it shrunk to a size that just happened to fit her perfectly ...she got lucky! I don't have that luxury as I just barely get into it now... so I'm contemplating a go with cold water procion dyes. Will go over your posts about dyeing asap. thanks again, dale j
 
Nicole, thanks for the info. I'm guessing this dress is from the 40's. Rayon crepe. And yes, some of the fade is from sun damage, I'm afraid. Years ago my sister had a similar DuBarry that was pretty big. She had it dyed, and it shrunk to a size that just happened to fit her perfectly ...she got lucky! I don't have that luxury as I just barely get into it now... so I'm contemplating a go with cold water procion dyes. Will go over your posts about dyeing asap. thanks again, dale j
 
Dale, rayon crepe is a dry clean only fabric - if you do proceed with dyeing, be very gentle as the reconstructed fibres are very vulnerable when wet and are prone to tearing.
 
Hi Dale,
Nicole has given you great advice, so the only other piece I can give you, is to reiterate that you should be very afraid of shrinkage when dying. To dye anything black it is usually exposed to very high or boiling temperatures- cold water procion dyes might work- but once you get that fabric wet, the chances of shrinkage are very high.
I would keep the item as is, as a lovely display piece :)
 
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