Indigo dyed twisted dress (Burdastyle 06/2014#102)

I loved the Japanese-influenced patterns from the June 2014 issue of Burdastyle and have finally got round to making something from the collection. This is the 'twisted cap-sleeve dress', so called because the side seams and sleeves are asymmetrical, causing both to twist. As the wearer puts on the dress, the lower half needs to be twisted, moving the side seams to the sides and producing subtle wrinkles across the torso.

Burdastyle 06/2014#102 - I wish I looked like this in my dress!

In order for the dress to stay in its twisted state, it is quite tight. This is all very well on the beanpole model, but when I look in the mirror all I see is tummy and VPL. As much as I admire the twisty design, I think I may need to perform some surgery on this dress to make it looser and more flattering on me.

Truffle is unimpressed.

The dress is made from medium-weight, stable, knit fabric found at Remida. It was originally an oatmeal marle colour, which I decided to dye in an attempt to recreate the subtle striped look of the Burdastyle dress.

Blurry back view

I used natural plant indigo dye from a kit I bought online from Dharma Trading. This contains everything you need for small-scale indigo dyeing. I used half the kit, which was plenty for some experimenting.

Indigo kit from Dharma Trading

Here is the dress on the mannequin before dyeing.

I folded some of the front of the dress into fairly even pleats and hand stitched them loosely in place so the dye would penetrate most of the fabric and produce subtle stripes.

Then into the dye it went. Elbow-length gloves for me!

Here's how the pattern looked when it came out of the dye.

When it dried it was lighter and the neckline had some dark splotches, but that's all part of the unpredictability and fun of natural dyeing.

All in all, I'm really happy with this project. Although the dress is too tight on me, I loved playing with the dye and the indigo colour is beautiful. I'm pleased with the stripy effect and I definitely think the dress is worth adjusting for a more flattering fit.