Y’know…I don’t actually know if these are daisies. But I’m rolling with it anyway.
I originally sewed this up in June 2023 and loved it from the start. But laundry did take its toll and the flowers faded to an echo of their former glory.
What to do?
No way around it. If I wanted to bring this dress back to life, I’d have to paint over all those flowers by hand.
I tested a few different fabric paints on the inside of the straps and landed on Jacquard Lumiere fabric paint in metallic silver. And in December of 2024, I began.
Many hours of watching things ensued (much of it motorcycling vicariously through Itchy Boots) and many cycles of feast/famine. I’d paint giant sections and then ignore the project for weeks/months. And that’s how it takes 18 months to repaint an entire dress.
Supplies
- Jacquard Lumiere fabric paint — metallic silver. I bought 2 jars but only needed one.
- Hogshair filbert brush
- Masters Touch brand from Hobby Lobby, size 4, was the ideal size. Size 4 in other brands were weirdly much larger.
- Hogshair gave just the right stiffness against the fabric.
- Filbert shape was perfect to switch between those fine lines for stems, wide strokes for petals, and the right fidelity for shaping leaves.
- Wet palette + distilled water. A definite must to keep the paint from drying during such prolonged detail work.
- An iPad with plenty of video content to keep me in the zone.
- Iron and steam press to set the paint when I was finally done.
And the Verdict
It lives! And I love it! Even more than the original, honestly. That metallic paint has such dimension and great contrast against the dark blue fabric. Here’s hoping it holds up in the wash.
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