The benefit’s of dyeing the fabric for Emily’s dress meant that I got to dye some other stuff to go with the fabric, meaning perfectly matched dress accessories.  Woot woot! In addition to the pink fabric, the original dress has pink ribbons trimming the top of the knife pleated ruffles on the hem, and would have had matching pink lacing cord for the bodice back. Unfortunately the original lacing cord has been lost and replaced with a synthetic alternative, so I just have to guess what the original cord looked like. When Emily’s dress was made the seamstresses probably just bought ribbon and lacing cords that came in almost matching colours.  The shade of pink was probably fashionable and popular, and easy to match. I don’t have that luxury, but I do have one that is just as good.  I can just use the same dye I used on the fabric to dye my accessories.  This is what I dyed: So, after dyeing my pink fabric, I saved the dye, and a few days later …

I know that last week, when I blogged about the evilness of pintucking, before life and a lack of internet derailed the blog, I promised to tell you what the pintucks had taught me. But that’s the wrong way to tell the story of Emily’s dress, because before you can pintuck fabric you have to have the right fabric. I already told you about the quest to figure out the correct term for the fabric type, and then to find a modern replacement, and that I ended up buying white silk taffeta.  Obviously Emily’s dress is extremely pink, not white. So, how to get extremely pink fabric?  Dye it! When I went to dye Emily’s fabric, I was a little scared.  It was a very precise colour, and a LOT of fabric to dye at once. I kept trying to put it off, but when I looked out the window I noticed that our camellia bush had put out its first bloom of the year, and it was exactly the right shade of pink.  Obviously …