Trying to dye

Today the weather was warm, but cloudy and windy, and I decided to take advantage of being at my mum's with access to a garden.

I wanted to dye my 1520's undergown. The fabric dyes that I had at home were Dylon Terracotta brown,  Goldfish orange and Sundlower yellow. I had a third of a packet of the brown and orange and hoped it would make some kind of golden brown. I was wrong. As soon as I put the dress in the dye bath it was obvious that the orange totally overpowered the brown. To dampen rhe bright orange I added all the yellow that I had, 1,3 packages. That was all the dye I had, so I would have to live with the result.

Another thing was of course that the gown is made out of wool. It says on the package that wool will take a lighter shade than cotton or linen but while I was stirring the gown in the dye bath it looked like it didn't take any dye at all.

 The linen lining took the dye well.

 Still when I compare the dyed gown with the original fabric there is a clear difference.

Even if I didn't get a nice golden brown gown it has taken on a warmer and more earthy shade. I think it looks better than before the dye. But be wary if you are planning on using the Dylon Goldfish orange, it's really strong.