Several months ago I saw a how-to video on how to turn one yard of material into a drapey vest. It didn’t look that hard, and I figured I could do it myself. So a couple of months ago, I dropped by JoAnn Fabric & Craft store and found a remnant piece of white jersey fabric. It was slightly less than a yard, but I decided I could still make it work for the DIY vest.
Knowing that white is hard to keep clean, I decided to dye the material. I didn’t think I wanted to dye the entire piece, and I for sure didn’t want to “tie-dye” it. So I have decided to try my hand at Ombré dyeing. What color you ask? Kelly Green!
Ombré is a French word meaning “to shade”. It is a graduated fabric dyeing technique where the effect is usually achieved by hand-dipping the fabric in dye so it gradually goes from light to dark.
I googled “Ombré Dyeing” and found the Rit Dye website’s “dyeing techniques” section. You can look it up at www.ritdye.com/dyeing-techniques. Then click on Ombré Dyeing.
Back in January, I featured a blue Ombré sweater on my dress form. In that post, I said I was inspired to do a DIY Ombré style vest. Well, here we go…
First thing I did was wash my piece of material. Then I laid the material on my a small tabletop so I could take a few measurements.
I actually measured a tank top I already have and just transferred those measurements to the material. I used a pencil to strategically dot the material I cut out.
Then after a few deep breaths, I cut into the material. I took extra care not to fray the material because even though it’s a DIY project, I didn’t want it to look DIY.
From the back, the arm hole are definitely larger than I’d hoped.
“Yes, this outfit does make your arse look big!”
Then I mixed my Kelly Green Rit Dye and proceeded to Ombré dye my DIY vest.
Below are pictures of the process.
Right: Dipped the entire piece of material in the dye, then I dipped half of the material in the dye. After a few minutes, I pulled the material up a little more, leaving the bottom part of the material in the dye.
Here’s the finished product:
Right: Back view of the vest.
The arm holes are entirely too large for my liking, so I’ll probably rework the vest to make it shorter and more of a halter-style vest.
Ok… the DIY vest doesn’t quite look Ombré dyed and those super long armholes are bothering me so I’ll most likely rework it into another vest, only shorter. So let’s try it again with a white tank top.
The actual instructions to Ombré dye material include mixing a cup of salt with four cups of extremely hot water (which I didn’t do the first time). Then you pour salt water mixture into a large five gallon container and pour 1/2 cup of Rit Dye into that water. Then you pour two gallons of hot water into that mixture. Then drop about 1 tsp of liquid laundry detergent into the whole mixture (again, I didn’t do this the first time).
Again, if you want your project to actually turn out Ombré dyed, then please follow the directions at this link: www.ritdye.com/dyeing-techniques. Then click on Ombré Dyeing.
Now here are pictures of the tank top dyeing process…
Right: I dipped just the bottom third of the material in the dye (per the instructions), and left it in the dye for about 7-8 minutes. Then I dipped the middle third of the material in the dye and left it for about 3 minutes. Then I dipped the next bit in just for a few seconds. Then I rinsed the material, per the directions on the Rit Dye website.
Not bad for my first dye job! I’m going to rework the DIY vest for a later Dress Form Outfit post… so stay tuned!
Don’t be afraid to try your hand at Ombré dyeing! Let me know how your DIY project turns out! In the meantime, have a fantabulous dip-dyed day!