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"I dyed that day."
The biggest problem I faced in making Scarlett's iconic BBQ dress was the distinctive fabric. The original costume by Walter Plunkett in 1938 was made of custom printed silk organza. They only ever made enough fabric for the dress.
These days you can find anything online. There is a company that makes reproduction fabric. But, coming in at $636 per bolt (+S&H), this polyester organza didn't quite fit my budget. And by didn't quite, I mean it's more than I spend on fabric in a year. Not to mention, that evil of evils in historical costuming- polyester. I knew I didn't want that.
Another site offered to print a very similar (though slightly different, because copyrights) fabric pattern- on about any type of fabric you'd like (that's right, you can get Scarlett O'Hara minky, fleece, or lycra), except- silk organza. And while I am a fan of faux suede, somehow it just didn't seem to be the right fabric for this project. (OR my budget.)
What's a girl to do?
So, I took matters into my own hands. I ordered myself some silk organza, and started looking into dyes. Luckily, it said right in the fabric description that I was looking for acid dye- so that narrowed the field considerably. I ended up picking Jaquard Acid Dye in Emerald Green.
I also ordered a selection of Penny Black stamps from Jo-Ann's. (Don't trust $1.99 shipping sales when you're impatient, it took a week and a half to arrive, and then was delivered to the neighbors.)
Finally, all of my components were in the same place.
I mixed my dye with acid and vinegar and brought it to a boil. I had to reheat it several times during the course of the day- it absorbed into the fabric better when it was hot.
I laid out my fabric with paper towels to absorb the excess dye ( the silk is very thin.) This particular piece is my bodice- you can see I traced the pattern onto the fabric to have an idea of where exactly I was stamping the pieces.
I poured my dye out onto a paper plate, dipped the stamps in it, and applied them to the fabric. I went through a Lot of paper towels. In fact, I had to stop halfway through and go buy more.
I had three different stamps, each roughly the size of my hand, and combined them together to make this larger floral motif, along with using them separately to fill in the spaces between. If i were to attempt this again, I would stamp closer together. This piece ( my skirt) has a lot of white space.
Not all of the floral patterns came out distinctly- some stamps were definitely better at that than others. But I'm pleased with the overall effect.
By the way- if you take off your gloves for a break, it's generally a good idea to put them back on Before you start dying again. Luckily, I only had green fingertips for a day or two before it finally washed off.
