Bleaching something black

[Kitty]

Hi,

I have a problem I fear may be unsolvable, but if anyone has any suggestions...

I'm getting married next year, and I bought in a market a skirt I really love. Unfortunately, it's black, and everyone we've invited is so shocked at the idea of a black skirt at a wedding that I'm discouraged. But the skirt itself is lovely, and I was wondering if bleaching it and re-dying it some other colour would do.

The skirt's a two-tier wrap-around, the top layer chiffon and the under-layer some kind of satiny material. As it's a market skirt, there are no labels, but I'm pretty sure it's synthetic fabric. Would bleaching it remove the black, or would it just make a huge disaster?

Failing that, does anyone know anyone in London (UK) who could copy the pattern? It's pretty simple, but alas, I'm no seamstress...

[janetdc]

OOhhdon't ruin it! I think if you love it you should wear it, its your wedding day and black is very fashionable now for weddings. For mine I wore red, no meringue for me!! Id love to see it, can you post a picture?

[Babushka]

If you want to wear black to your wedding, then wear black to your wedding. It's your big day afterall so you can do what you like :)

But I wouldn't try to change the colour if I were you. Hopefully somebody on here might be able to copy the pattern for you.

[colourart]

I agree with Janetdc. Black and white is very fashionable. Why not team it with white on top and white accessories. I don't think bleaching would work as it is manmade fabric.

[Kitty]

Thanks, it's very cheering to hear I can wear what I like. :-) I think I'll follow your advice rather than mess with it. I'll find a suitably bridal top, and look down my more-fashionable nose at anyone old-fashioned enough not to realise that this is the latest trend!

[janetdc]

Good for you Kitty, I'm sure it will look stunning!!!:mf:

[Critchley]

I'm of an age where I'm supposed to be 'Old fashioned' but I think if you do as you plan it would look extremely striking. Don't have frills, just keep it simple and it will be lovely.
Carol

[craftdancer]

Whose wedding is it? It's your day and you and husband-to-be should do exactly what you want. If people don't like it they can stay away.

For what it's worth I got married (in 1973) in a dress I had made myself which had a full length black skirt with a very small white flower pattern and a plain white bodice. I wore that dress to social events for years afterwards!

Have a wonderful day.

Linda

[Seahorse]

Definately dont bleach it.It can come out mottled then whatever colour you dye it will have light dark patches.
I say this as I sit in a pair of smart black trousers which I accidently got bleach in while cleaning the bathroom.
I use a black marker pen to hide the mark.

[Kitty]

Have you tried dyeing them black again? I once dripped bleach on a favourite black jumper, and dyeing it black restored it perfectly.

[creativeclare]

I`m afraid satin won`t bleach. Because it`s a man made fabric the bleach will just burn through the fibres then it will fall apart.

I say wear what you like....


Could you embellish the skirt in anyway with another colour?

[Seahorse]

Have you tried dyeing them black again? I once dripped bleach on a favourite black jumper, and dyeing it black restored it perfectly.


Nope, Im not good at dyeing.Im sure id get more on me than on the trousers.

[craftyjan]

when i got married 26 years ago i wore a navy dress, it was a maternity dress and i was 8 months pregnant with daughter number 2 .we are very happily married and i never wanted a frilly frock or to get married really but we did and did it our way, we didnt care what anyone else thought , so id say go with what you want as long as your happy.

[Kitty]

Nope, Im not good at dyeing.

Dylon do good idiot-proof dyes; the one I used just involved dumping some powder and salt in the washing machine with the damaged garment. You can see their range on their website, which is dylon.co.uk. (Sorry I can't link, the site doesn't let newbies do it). Not trying to evangelise, as they're your trousers, of course! :) But I'm no great hand with the dye either, and if you wanted something easy, these are a good option.

[swirlyarts]

I think black would look gorgeous at a wedding. My wedding dress came from (I'll bet you can't guess!) yep, a charity shop for 50p! It had to have £50 worth of work done to it to make it how I wanted it but not bad!

[beadsbydesign]

Nope, Im not good at dyeing.

Dylon do good idiot-proof dyes; the one I used just involved dumping some powder and salt in the washing machine with the damaged garment. You can see their range on their website, which is dylon.co.uk. (Sorry I can't link, the site doesn't let newbies do it). Not trying to evangelise, as they're your trousers, of course! :) But I'm no great hand with the dye either, and if you wanted something easy, these are a good option.

Yep, they also do a really really idiot proof one that has the salt already in it!

I've been really into weddings now for a couple of years and the trends are definatly for stirking out and doing it different. I think more and more people are going for unique styles etc.
If I was getting married today I'd certaiinly go ethnic!
Did you see the hippy wedding on Jam and jerusalem a while back, it was beautiful! (it's on you tube)

[Kitty]

50p? Now that's seriously impressive! Good for you!

Yep, the more I think about it, why not wear a skirt I love? I'm going to look out for lovely blouses or perhaps some kind of nice bodice, and put flowers in my hair and a big grin on my face. That should do just fine.

[beadsbydesign]

50p? Now that's seriously impressive! Good for you!

Yep, the more I think about it, why not wear a skirt I love? I'm going to look out for lovely blouses or perhaps some kind of nice bodice, and put flowers in my hair and a big grin on my face. That should do just fine.


Be yourself.... coz that who he's marrying!!!

[Kitty]

A little update: I'm sticking with the black skirt, and I've just a red and black bodice/corset off ebay. (The site won't let me link because I'm too new, but if you're curious, you can search for 'black red basque corset bustier top thong' and you should find it; it's the darker red one with the vine patterns. That's a good seller, by the way, if anyone else is looking for a bodice.) I'm going to be in red and black, with a red Venetian glass necklace I have; I tried it on in front of the mirror just now, and I felt very elegant and sexy!

Thanks for the encouragement; it was driving me crazy trying to think of something to wear when I already had something... :D

[Pebbles]

That looks lovely, I think you will be much more comfortable in that than a big white frilly frock!

A friend of mine got married in a red and gold skirt corset combo and looked absolutely fabulous.

You do not have to stick to tradition, you should stick to what you are comfortable in!

I think you will look lovely on your big day, we want photos by the way! :D

[Littlegems_cm]

Go for it Kitty, you wear whatever you like. Who makes the rules? It's your big day!

Cxx

[silvermaid]

I think it's quite acceptable to wear black in fact any colour you are happy with.
This is a photo of a friends wedding and as you can see she is in black it was a lovely dress, and didn't seem out of place or wrong at all. It wasn't until my mum pointed it out afterwards that I realised it was unusual for the bride to wear black.
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t209/silvermaid/022-1.jpg
Melanie
PS I love the red basque it will look gorgeous.

[Kitty]

She looks lovely!