Yesterday I played hooky from the Celtic Braid Coat for one more day, and puttered around with dyes instead. Here are the three shirts after round three:
This one came out pretty well. (Click for the larger version.) I had two goals with this round of dyeing: warm up the colors a bit, since I look better in warm colors, and even out the splotches of yellow-green. The resulting shirt isn’t spectacular, but it’s a big improvement on the two previous rounds. I think I will screen print on it to create some crisper patterns – colors TBD.
This one is mildly disappointing:
I wanted to tone down the contrast some, but the black makes it a little too somber – I really liked the bright purples. On sober consideration, I liked it better after the second round. Oh well, c’est la vie! Sadly, there is no “undo” button on dyeing. I am debating whether to wear it “as is” or whether to overdye in dark cerulean blue, then screen print on it in a contrasting color. Both approaches sound good to me. The overdyeing and screen printing would be interesting, and provide a different “look”, so I am inclined to go that route. But you never know – I could change my mind again.
And this transformation is nothing short of magical:
I overdyed it in Bright Orange with a bit of Cerulean Blue mixed in to give a rusty orange/terra cotta color. Behold! Transformation from “butt-ugly” to something I would actually enjoy putting on.
Meanwhile, in the “completely unsubtle” category, we have these to offer:
Hey, who knows what goes on under those fancy-schmancy dyed shirts?
But they go very well with these:
And, just to prove that you can’t win ’em all, here’s the scrub from this round:
This was an attempt at fiery reds and oranges mixed with black. Unfortunately my black tends towards blue at the edges, accounting for the ugly greenish spots and brown areas. I can’t think of a good way to overdye it, so am proceeding directly to the ultimate dyers’ solution: dye them black, and then screen print on top.
Tonight I’m booked with work-related stuff, but tomorrow I plan to get back into the coat. Unless, of course, the dyepots tempt me again…!
Have you considered reverse bound buttonholes. What would ordinarily be the patch on the back is instead brought to the front of the garment. It can be any size and any shape. the back of the buttonhole is what is usually the bound, front of the buttonhole. In this case, any reinforcing material would be on the front of the garment and would be hidden by the pulled through patch. If your leather is flexible, it would work well. The patch could be cut in the diamond shape. Sorry that I didn’t think of this suggestion sooner.
Like your dyed garments!
No particular comment – but my word verification is D7YE. What are the chances?????
I actually like all 3 versions of the first shirt (my favorite was the original dye job), and I think those last pair of sweats look great. Very autumnal. May not have been what you planned, but I see dahlia blossoms.