Posts Tagged ‘bride’
Satin Bride
Can I dye/bleach a satin dress made of acetate, nylon & spandex?
I have a gorgeous Cocktail Dress I wore to a wedding a few years back. Its a satin fabric made up of 69% acetate, 26% nylon and 5% spandex. It’s a light lavender/grey color. I had it dry cleaned right after the wedding but around the bottom of the armholes is a slight pink discoloration due to the deodarant reacting with the fabric. And there’s a slight water/white wine splotch on another part of the dress which is only noticeable if you’re really looking for it, but I definitely don’t want to wear it as is.
Without dying it black, what else can I do to save this dress? Is there a certain type of bleach I can use to lighten the overall dress? Or a type of dye that I can use on this combination of fabric?
Any tips would be appreciated! I have a wedding to go to in less than 2 weeks, and the bride doesn’t want anyone wearing black, and I don’t want to splurge on a new dress during the recession….I have other dresses but I really wanted to see what I could do with this one. 
Sounds tricky. The acetate requires a disperse dye, spandex takes a fiber-reactive dye, and nylon does well with an acid dye as is used for protein fibers. Neither the acetate nor the spandex can tolerate chlorine bleach, and other fabric bleaches aren’t strong enough to remove the dye. Rit Color Remover might work to lighten the fabric overall, but no guarantees.
If you aren’t able to wear the dress as-is, however, you’ve got nothing to lose. Get a nice darkish blue or maroon dye and give it a go. Worst that could happen? You get to go shopping!
Man in an antique Satin Bridal Gown.wmv
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