Let's get started!
Be sure to pre-wash your dresses so that there is nothing to impede the dye from being absorbed.
Cover your workspace with newsprint or some plastic as this is going to get a bit messy (in the best way of course!)
If your dresses are not still damp from pre-washing, lay them out and give them a good spritz with water, they need to be slightly damp.
Scrunch up the first dress and grab the first color of paint. We suggest starting with the lightest color, in this case yellow. Give it a quick shake to mix the paint (no need to go crazy - this isnÃÆÆâ¢ÃƢâââ¬Ã ¡¬ÃƢâââ¬Ã ¾¢t aerosol) and do a test spray over some paper or a trashcan to get the paint flowing.
Holding the spray nozzle 6-8 inches over the scarf and the top of the fabric, spray until the top of the folds look covered. We are not trying to make all the fabric this color, so donÃÆÆâ¢ÃƢâââ¬Ã ¡¬ÃƢâââ¬Ã ¾¢t worry about getting deep down in the folds.
Unscrunch the dress and take a look at what you have. Re-scrunch the dress so that mostly white areas are at the top of your folds and spray again with the next color. We went over things to make sure we got some darker areas as this will be the black empty space. Keep layering colors until you are happy with the color mix, but try to keep the front area a little lighter to help your stencil pop.
Lastly, take your stencil and position it on the dress. We used a bright purple/pink to make it stand out from the other colors. Spray straight down on the stencil as best you can, the edges are going to bleed a little anyway but this will keep it as sharp as possible.
Pro-Tip: For the sharpest stencil image you might want to let the dress air dry a bit, we didnÃÆÆâ¢ÃƢâââ¬Ã ¡¬ÃƢâââ¬Ã ¾¢t so the edges are very soft.
Once it looks like you have good coverage, carefully lift the stencil away (try to avoid drips!). Lay the dress out to air dry. Repeat the process with the adult dress.
Once both dresses (or however many you do) are dry, throw them into the dryer and tumble on high per the Tumble Dye directions. For extra heat setting you can even iron them on the Rayon setting. Be sure to wash and dry the dresses before wearing.
Grab a pair of matching flip flops and enjoy the sun in your new looks!