Making a Ball Gown: Part I

I know you will all be SHOCKED to see a new post on here from me but part of my New Year's Resolutions is that I will be better about documenting my creations. So as I begin this huge daunting task of making my own ball gown, I am trying to enjoy the journey.

At the end of the month I am attending a Masquerade Ball and of course, I need a dress for such an event. I don't want to spend a lot of money, but I do want it to be FABULOUS so I went digging in Mom's fabric stash. I found this fabric
I think it is some sort of cotton/poly blend. It doesn't scream special occasion fabric, but I really like the subtle shimmer to it. The problem was, I already have one big beautiful gold dress, and in my head I had a vision of a pink dress. I blame my recent viewing of Grey's Anatomy and Izzie Stevens. So it became dyeing time. I tested it out last night and was happy with the new color so I went home and picked a pattern. Thank goodness I always stock up on crazy poofy dresses during $1 pattern sales!
And, wouldn't you know, the dress on the pattern is even pink!







Because this pattern requires 8 yards of fabric, and that is A LOT of fabric to dye, I had to get a little creative....here's some pictures of the process I went through:
Three big pots of dye all added to this huge tub! I felt like a witch with a big tub of blood because it looked red.
Here is the finished product! I am so pleased! I think it is really pretty and I can't wait to get started. One last picture comparing the undyed and dyed fabrics


More to come!