Despite my own penchant for bright grass green, which I would venture to guess is the Anti-Goth color (brimming as it is with life and vulgar cheerfulness), I have a not-so-secret fondness and admiration for the Full-On Goth. I really, really love Goth fashion, in all its varieties, but probably my Favorite Goth is the Lady of the Manners, who runs Gothic Charm School. (That's her, right there on the left.)
And because the Lady of the Manners has such exquisite fashion sense, she is often hindered by the lack of availability of certain items, since manufacturers are either unaware of the demand for such things, or unwilling to cater to those so far avant of the garde. So she asked me for help in tracking down a particular fabric, and I, in turn, am asking all of you.
Does anyone know of a source for black and "cupcake pink" (see why the Lady is my favorite Goth?) WIDE striped fabric? The stripes, ideally, would be more than 3/8th of an inch wide.
The Lady of the Manners needs at least five yards, because the envisioned dress includes a bustle. (Oh, my heart!)
It has been suggested that the Lady of the Manners buy black and WHITE fabric, and dye it, but, perfectionist that she is, she is afraid that she wouldn't be able to dye it evenly. So she waits for the right fabric to come along.
And — this request got me thinking. If I put up a quick-wiki/bulletin board page of "fabric requests" would you folks visit it, both to post requests and to help fulfill them? Does such a thing exist anywhere else? I wouldn't provide any kind of ecommerce support — you'd have to email each other and make arrangements for sales and swaps yourselves — but would simply having such a space be helpful? Let me know in the comments.
A Dress A Day 
Hi Erin,A bulletin board would be wonderful for fabrics and dress patterns. Our ‘pin’ board, if you like! I wish I could help out with the black and pink fabric but I know I don’t have that in my stockpile. What I do have, if anyone is interested, is piles of novelty print/floral print 40s and 50s and 60s barkcloth fabrics, some of which I’m willing to swap. Email carolineturnerathome@yahoo.co.uk (I’m in London, UK) for more info.Thanks! Caroline
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Erin, Could you (or Miss Manners) elaborate on “cupcake pink?” Are we talking FFCCCC? Or more FF66CC? Hello Kitty Pink? Lemme know and I’ll keep my eyes peeled.–Lydia
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In an emergency, I would say that washing-machine dying works pretty well with pink. Here’s how I would do it:I would make sure my fabric was all-cotton and for preference not too sateen-y.I would run a test dye job in the washing machine with the pink I intended on using.Then I would fill the washing machine with hot water and slowly add small amounts of the correctly mixed dye, testing with bits of white cloth, until I got a color slightly lighter than what I wanted. It seems like “cupcake pink” would be hard to mix up exactly, but something pretty close could be done.
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I’m sure a bulletin board or listserve or something would be invaluable. I know they have been for some of my other hobbies.Hmm, no luck finding pink-and-black, or even white-and-black (Rit and I are good friends), plain stripes. Dang.
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There are ongoing fabric swaps on Craftster, but I like this idea better. I think it would be very helpful for those hard-to-find prints and unusual colors.
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Fashion Fabric Club (naiaw) has 700+ stripes. Surely one of them will appeal to the Lady of the Manners.
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I think the bulletin board is a great idea. And I also love the goths, despite green being my favorite color. I haven’t seen the fabric the Lady requests, but I’m sure it must exist and will keep an eye peeled for it (I’m thinking decorator fabric…did she specify weight/content at all? I’m imagining it in a nice heavy silk.)
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oh yes please – the “pin board” is a fabulous idea…I’ve dyed lots of cotton stuff with Procion dyes from Dharma Trading in the washing machine. It’s got a few more steps and additives than Rit, but tons more color choices. Pink shouldn’t be a problem. Dark red, that’s another whole ball of wax.And frowner, I think if you want to do the test patches, they should be slightly darker when wet, as things turn lighter when dried.
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I think a pin board would be great – although in all honesty i’m not sure how much i would actually use it. And for LotM, I live in LA not far from that bustling haven of blocks and blocks of fabrics that it the Fashion District…. i could look. I mean, ANY excuse to go down there, without the kids. 😉 What kind of fabric are you looking for?
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I love the pin board idea. My 14 year old daughter is somewhat goth and her favorite colors are cotton candy pink and blue.
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Hi,FYI, I ordered the Butterick 4790 pattern from a couple of days ago for .99 cents at Hancock! The shipping was more expensive. I think I’m going to make it reversible so that I don’t have to do all of that crazy binding!!Thanks for the info.Heatherknittingontherocks.blogspot.com
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I am just now desperately searching for more of a fabric I stupidly bought only 2 yards of, when *obviously* it needs to be a full-skirted dress. Duh. So count me in as a pin board participant!
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Pink and black stripes might also be found in home decorating fabrics, if she hasn’t already thought to look there.
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I love the pin board idea. Features that would make it extremely usable for me would be to be able to reference hex color codes like Lydia did above or maybe paint chip codes from one of the online paint stores, for color matching. It would also be great to be able to link to or upload an image of the fabric being hunted.Great idea!
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http://www.lucysfabrics.com/detail.aspx?ID=327It is unfortunately a ploy/spandex knit, so probably not suitable. But where there is one……..
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You darling! Thank you so much for posting this. And for the record, a fabric request board is a fabulous idea.Lydia, “cupcake pink” is somewhere between FF66CC and FF99FF. Any shade of pink between those two would work, actually. As to those that asked about fabric weight: the Lady of the Manners is pretty certain that a mid- to heavy-weight fabric would work, because the bustle would be supported with a wire bustle cage. Juno, thank you so much for that link! While that fabric might not work for the gothy-goth bustle-y gown, it WILL work for the eleventy-billion other pink & black clothing projects the Lady of the Manners has been plotting.
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fabric.com has a fabric wanted bulletin board.
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I hope these links are live: Black and pink striped fabric sources:Black stripes and pink stripes with black dots alternate and repeat. Part of the Glam Girl Collection from Free Spirit.$8.25 yd at http://www.alwaysquiltingonline.com/ : http://www.alwaysquiltingonline.com/cgi-bin/Store/store.cgi?product=freespiritmisc&productid=fsd1116-630&pid=1#fsd1116-630Pink Stripes on Black. This coordinate from Loralie Designs’ Pink Cats collection is 44″ wide, 100% cotton and sells for $ 8.98 per yard. Not necessarily the stripe you’re looking for but you might think “outside the box”. http://www.creations-online.com/fabrics/loralie_girls.htm (scroll almost all the way to the bottom of the page)These two are negatives of each other and might be too narrow a stripe:Tiny black stripes on pink. From the Wilmington Essentials Color Shapes collection. These stripes run parallel to the selvage, so you can have borders as long as you like. Our price-$7.89 per yard. http://www.craftconn.com/Main.asp?Task=Custom&Step=Fabric+Details&productID=17248Thin pink stripes on black. From the Wilmington Essentials Color Shapes collection. These stripes run parallel to the selvage, so you can have borders as long as you like. Our price-$7.89 per yard http://www.craftconn.com/Main.asp?Task=Custom&Step=Fabric+Details&productID=17249Is Lycra OK? Striped Pink & Black Spandex with LYCRA Item # SP7 Price: $11.45 yard (10 yard minimum) http://spandexfabrics.com/StripesPrintsSpandexFabric.htmCotton Lycra Jersey Stripes. Price:$8.95. Price:$8.95 http://dollarfabric.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=5561-06&Category_Code=5561
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Total oops, I mean fabrics.nethttp://www.fabrics.net/swatch/newthrd.asp
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Please, isn’t it time for a new Secret Lives of Dresses? Just reread #11. Beautiful!
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If the lady is really determined, she might try the folks at Angus International:http://www.angelfire.com/biz2/angussilkshongkong/Supposedly they can have silk fabric custom woven for you, at a reasonable price. For the amount needed for a bustle gown, it might be worth it.
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Sarah Jane, when I do washing machine test patches, I find that after sloshing around in a strong dye bath the fabric gets darker than it is on the initial, quick dye–I would be especially cautious with a light pink, because it would be so easy to dye too deeply. But that may be unique to RIT, which is all I ever use.
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A reader who can’t comment suggested http://www.missingfabrics.comSeems to be geared to quilters, but worth a shot!
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I, too, love the idea of a pin board for help in looking for a desired fabric! Especially since I have tons that could be used for this. I’m having trouble finding Oxford shirting for my hubby’s shirts. I can only find industrial lengths (way more than I need), or even something we used to call kettlecloth, but is now called rodeo cloth(?). And I have very fond memories of a gold, double-knit, lacy-like cloth from the late 60’s that I would love to have some more of!
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I would find a bulletin board deliciously helpful — it could have helped me out big time one more than one occasion.
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Supposedly they can have silk fabric custom woven for you, at a reasonable price.!!!Custom-woven silk! Good heavens. The Lady of the Manners wonders how complex of patterns they can do. Because a custom-woven bat brocade is pretty much the Goth fabric Holy Grail …
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I am looking for that fabulous broomstick rayon fabric that all the dresses about 4 years ago were made out of, and now they are all gone! My mother wears those dresses every day and really needs new fabric.So yes, I would love to find a place to go and have helpful knowledegable folks help me out! What a great idea!And yes, the Lady of the Manners is sooooo lovely. I just found some great fabric to recover a pagoda shaped parasol – it was sun proof and water proof and cheap!
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Home decor fabric is probably her best bet, as it often comes in wide stripes.
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Can any of you wonderful sewing-types help me with a dress-related dilemma? Even if it has nothing to do with fabric or fabric dye?I have a lovely, lovely black ruffled apron dress that I want to wear to a cocktail party tomorrow night, but the zip is awfully sticky. I used to be able to wiggle it up, but last time I tried on this dress it got stuck halfway and it took two housemates and all sorts of contortions to get me out.I don’t have time to replace the zip before tomorrow night, and neither have I the inclination if there’s some very simple trick I’m forgetting that will magically sort me out instead.All help appreciated!
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http://www.fabrics.net hasa search engine.i’d love a board for fabrics, both to get rid of and obtain new fabrics.
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Jess — try scribbling on the zipper with a soft lead pencil. That often is the right amount of lubrication … good luck!
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I haven’t scrolled through this entire list of comments, but you may want to check out Lucy’s Fabrics (lucysfabrics.com). She has a 3/8″ pink and black stripe knit that is wonderful to work with.
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Jess, try rubbing dry bar soap over the zipper and test zip and unzip it before you put it on. Should work on a metal zipper.
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Depending on how much time the Lady would like to spend on this project it is possible to sew your own striped fabric. In fact it was not uncommon for people to create striped fabric by sewing together strips in the “olden days”. The advantage is that you get exactly the width of stripe you desire as well as the precise color, but it is very labour intensive.
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I would be happy to contribute to the wish lists on the ‘pin board’ – as I live in China, the mother country of cheap fabrics. In fact, (I don’t want to cause a riot), but 6 weeks ago I bought some coffee-on-cream multi-sized polka dot fabric in silk charmuese. I think I paid $8 per meter. If anyone is desperate, I could see if there’s more….-Barbara
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YES perfect! I have left overs of my production, not only fabrics but trimmings as well. I would participate, definately! And it’s hard to get any special fabrics over here.
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Yes: a Pin board! Yes! Pink and Black! “Pink and Black is coming back” is a 50s thing, I think…I’ve always loved those 2 together. I know I have seen a stripe of this kind, but not for awhile. Try quilt fabric sources is my advice. I personally would NOT want to dye 5 yds. of fabric, but some would not flinch.
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What a great idea. I have some wierd fabrics that weren’t weird when I bought them (at least that’s the story I am sticking to) but don’t have anyone who would want them. If they feel good, if they are cheap, they go home with me. Sad, really. I think there are some items that are commonly available to the “web search” experts, but sometimes you need additional fabric to complete an ensemble and the original source has gone bye bye or you can’t remember where the heck you got it! So if, on occasion, it was possible to post an “I need 2 yards of this purple on green polka dotted stripped rayon knit that I think I got at Walmart but I might have picked up at Goodwill and I need it because I just cut the bodice out three times and forgot to cut the skirt and I am out of fabric” kind of thing, it would be nice to have a place to beg. Expecially if we could post photos of the fabric needed!
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Jillian,I’ll keep my eyes peeled for something between FFCCCC and FF66CC. I go to a mill-end store about an hour from Lawrence every once in a while. If they have something, I’ll contact you via your website correspondence page.–Lydia
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To the zipper quandry person:*I am furtive and ashamed to say this in public*I stiched myself into a dress with that problem once. I used wide basting stitches that took five minutes to do (i hid them in the zipper’s fabric edging). Then I snipped myself out of it that night with nail scissors.If you aren’t expecting to have company when you get undressed, it’s a one-time resolution till you can fix your zip.
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This purpose-made machine dye works very well, and comes out extremely evenly. And I would think the lighter pink might fit???http://www.dylon.co.uk/colourcentre/index.htm
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This may or may not help…but check the clearance rack at your local fabric store. I just got some awesome cotton that is black with pink outlined jack-o-lanterns on it. I am using it for the lining of a corset I am making out of bright pink (probably what The Lady would consider cupcake pink) PVC, so I only bought a yard. I wanted to buy more, but thought I should restrain myself. I bought the PVC for 75% off at JoAnn fabrics because they considered it Halloween fabric, and thus it was marked down in their Halloween sale. I bought all they had, and have enough for several projects. So, my second piece of advice would be to check out Halloween fabric. I don’t know when you need the skirt, but the Halloween stuff should be out in a month or two.
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Regarding custom-woven silk from Angus International: I’d just email them or call them and ask. The custom order thing isn’t on their website, but it used to be in the materials they sent out with their orders (I haven’t ordered from them for a about a year.) I’m sure they could handle stripes, less sure about a specific brocade design– though bats are not an uncommon motif on Chinese brocades.If that fails for your stripes, you might also try these folks:http://www.bangkok-thailand.com/about-world-of-thai-silk.htmI know nothing about them, but they sell Thai silk woven to order and it appears that they can weave stripes in any color combo you wish.
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Hi guys, in New Zeland we have locally people who do digital textile printing and could make cotton, silk or synthetic to order for you at http://www.digitex.co.nz. There are definite minimums especially for natural fabrics due to the treatment requirements (50m) … but you may want to look into similar options in the US, I’m guess you may find them – if not, I’m guessing these guys could ship to you. I think The Lady would probably have a fantastic time thinking up patterns!
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Jasmin — thank you! That link is EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for … and the keywords ‘digital textile printing’ have opened up a whole new search avenue for me. Thank you!
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I’ve dyed fabrics with Procion dyes, washing machine & not, and it’s easy to get even color in the machine by not letting it drain out, and turning the cycle back to wash again several times. And Procion fiber reactive dyes are washfast & lightfast, unlike RIT. (Dharmatrading.com has good instructions.) BUT that’s with PFD (prepared for dyeing) fabrics. I also have had excellent overdye results with cotton or rayon commercial batik fabrics, which have some fun black & white or blue & white patterns. Regular stripes, however, are not a batik type of pattern. Unfortunately for the dyer, many regular fabrics are going to have permanent press or, in the case of decorating fabrics, stain resistant, finishes which resist the dye, either totally or patchily. So a test patch is essential, but do it in a ziploc bag, to see if the fabric is dyeable, rather than waste the supplies mixing up a whole washing machine full for your test. You don’t want to delay in putting your fabric into the dyebath after it is mixed, to do a test; some dye colors have a very fast active window for the dye to strike the fabric.So it’s a good thing several people found fabric possibilities for this!Jasmin-I too am excited about the digital textile printing link. Thanks.
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Oh, a bulletin board page of “fabric requests”… Now what a grand idea! I’d love to see tha happen! 😀
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