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[sagababycakes]

Hi!

I'm planning to make a jacket but I'm kind of confused about how to do this type of color on it:

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_md...oh1fo1_500.jpg

See, at first I thought to try gradient dyeing before the pieces are sewn but it seems to not be an exact gradient (because of the spotting around the edges of the black at the elbows/midsection). And then I thought about how to do the splotches - would it be better to just make it and paint it with maybe a sponge so I can get the splotchy and uneven bits by hand or should I still try gradient dye and maybe just do concentrated splotches of dye in those spots?

Or maybe just go with a tad bit of inaccuracy and straight out try to gradient dye from the elbows up?

I also thought I'd try to retain the structure of the jacket so would using fabric paint change the stiffness or make it shiny if I made the jacket out of cotton(or does that only happen if I layer it on too thick?)?

Thanks!

[Akaya]

I would recommend fabric dye rather than fabric paint to get that effect, but it's hard to say since it's really hard to dye fabric black. But it would seem to be the easiest way if you can get get red fabric to dye black. You would do a slight gradient dye of the top part with about one inch of gradient. Other than that for the splotches I would get a black powder dye, then sprinkle that along the gradient while the fabric was still wet, it's a technique called accidental dye and it should produce the splotchy effect on his coat. The main problem with that would possibly stain the coat the wrong color since the dye is made of different particles that combine to form the proper color.
Fabric paint does make a fabric stiffer and a bit shinier.
I hope this helps!

[sagababycakes]

Ah I didn't even think of using powder dye! sounds like a great idea

I'll test it out on a scrap piece of the fabric to see how it might turn out before I start.

Thanks so much!