[Carolina Girl]

Hi. I'm new to the forum and am hoping someone can help me. I, like many others, am guilty of spending way too many hours scrolling through page after page of amazing things and pinning great idea after great idea from Pinterest. And, typically, if I see it and set my mind to it, I can make it. Well, I guess I didn't research this one enough. There was a great pic of a wedding dress that had been dyed black. It was on a dressmakers form and beside it sitting on a wooden spool was about a 2 foot skeleton / tailor with needle in hand sewing the dress. I instantly started combing thrift stores for wedding dresses and dress forms. After a couple of weeks, I had all of the pieces I needed to make this happen. When I started to research how would be the best way to dye the dress (because it's got a huge train) I discovered that if the dress is made of polyester, you can't use Rit dye. Of course, unless you spend like a gazillion dollars on your dress, it's gonna be made of polyester or some other synthetic. So I find that the make a fabric spray paint that I can use. Well, it's expensive stuff $8-10/can. I call the company to see what kind of coverage I would get per can to see how many cans I would need to buy and the customer service guy asked if my house was paid for because I would need to take out a 2nd mortgage! He was very nice and actually suggested using plain old interior, acrylic house paint since it's a prop and not going to be worn. He recommended applying it with an airless sprayer which, thankfully, I have and just thinning it down with water by 5-10%. My question is has anyone ever used plain acrylic paint to paint fabric (without fabric medium)? If so, did it crack? Does anyone have ideas for how to spread the skirt of the dress out fully while I'm spraying it. I'm intending to spray it while it on the dress form. It currently has 2 crinolines under it and that is helping to straighten out a lot of the folds in the skirt but not all. I've already got about $130 tied up in this and fear that it's gonna turn into a hot mess!! Any help would be much appreciated!!

 

[icyuod2]

Black dye always looks purple when I dye fabric. Instead I use spray paint and sharpie markers. This was a light dusting of flat black. Your fabric will get a little crusty if you put on the paint too thick, but personally I think it adds to the creep factor.

 

[Bruzilla]

The thing to remember about synthetic fibers is... they're essentially plastic, so anything you can paint plastic with you can paint synthetic fabric with. I bought a duster coat for our Jeepers Creeper Creeper figure that was all black, then used several different brown and gray spray paints to weather it.

I don't know that I would use latex house paint though. Latex has no chemical reaction with plastic, which is good, but it doesn't bond well with it either, as anyone who paints vinyl siding with latex house paint knows. It's not long before it starts peeling because all the paint does in lie over the surface. I would go with a diluted lacquer paint.

 

[Sharonr3106]

I used acrylic paint on a dress for a victorian doll costume and I used a sprayer just as it has been suggested to you. I found it easiest to do by pegging it on my washing line upside down so that I could spread the whole dress out to it's full extent. It dried quickly outside as well, did the front let it dry then turned it over and did the back the same. It didn't crack with the sprayer as went on like a mist, but I did paint some acrylic also around the bottom which did crack but looked good as dressing as a doll I did my make up cracked so added to the effect

 

[FutureFiyero]

They make some awesome polyester fabric dyes. They're pretty new on the market but I've heard nothing but good things.

 

[Nebulosity]

It might take a few cans but spray paint can be used on fabric as well - my sister's marching band "vandalized" their clothes and marched in them for several shows.

 

[Carolina Girl]

Sharonr3106
Thanks for the clothes line suggestion. I'm not sure that will work in this situation because the dress has an insanely long train. May have to try pinning it up to see how it will work. One more question for you. At the end of your post you said you used some acrylic around the bottom which did crack. Do you mean you used acrylic spray paint? Just trying to clarify. Thanks again for your help!!

 

[Ipsissimus13]

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This was done with watered down acrylic paint in black and some greenish shades. It made the fabric a bit stiff, but it's held up well. We use it as a costume.

 

[Sharonr3106]

Just normal acrylic paint not spray, as it was thicker it cracked when it dried

 

[Pumpkinprincess]

I have used black spray bed liner on fabric. Word great.