Name: Tammy
Message: I am sorry to bother you but have searched and searched and want to make sure that I do this correctly.
I purchased some silk---I believe it may be what is called a lightweight raw silk---antique white---with embellishments. These are evenly spaced 'pearls' with pearl colored matte sequins around each pearl. I purchased this to make one of the beautiful bohemian skirts [see picture]---I am planning on machine stitching a little bit of metallic embroidery ( i don't mind if it puckers a little) and last but not least---I need to dye it and don't know which order I should do the different steps in plus what kind of technique and or dyes to use on the fabric. I don't think that it will dye the original sequins and pearls---even so it would be kind of neat if it does---I read on your site that the metallic thread---most likely will go untouched. Thanks so very very much for your help and expertise!
Blessings!

The fabric might shrink a bit if it's never been washed before, so I'd recommend doing the dyeing before machine embroidery, though it's not essential since you don't mind a bit of puckering. Also, the results of dye application can be a little random, so you might prefer to be able to adjust your hand-guided machine embroidery to go with the design of the dye.

You can sew the skirt either before or after dyeing. If you sew it before dyeing, stitch with cotton thread or cotton-wrapped thread, so that the thread will take the dye. (Polyester thread will stay its original color.) You can sew with polyester thread, selected to match as well as possible, if you do the sewing after you do the dyeing. You must wash the material before dyeing in any case.

Silk is a unique fabric in that it can be dyed with the same fiber reactive dyes we use for cotton, OR with acid dyes such as we use for wool. You'll probably want to treat it like cotton. Doing so can reduce the sheen of silk, but make it softer, which looks as though it should be no problem at all for this project. Cool water fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion MX dye, are certainly the easiest way to do direct dye application, which is how you can dye different parts of the skirt different colors. You can get a "tie-dye kit" from your local crafts store, or from many of the different companies listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page, such as Tie-dyed.com's Small Tie-Dye Kit or their Standard Tie-Dye Kit. The mail-order kits cost less and provide a better value, more dye for the money, and you can add different Procion MX dye colors that are sold by the company you choose to order from, if you don't want to mix your own from the usual turquoise/fuchsia/yellow provided. Note that if you want to use colors very similar to the picture of the skirt you sent, you will want to use much less dye than the instructions indicate, in order to get paler colors than the average tie-dye kit is intended to produce. Remember, it is much easier to add more color by dyeing again, than it is to remove dye to get the colors you want.

We don't know what the "pearls" are made of, but they might (or might not!) dye the same color as the fabric, if you use acid dye. They are unlikely to take any of the color of the cool water fiber reactive dye, however. If you used acid dye, you would have to "cook" your skirt in hot water with the dye, simmering at 190 degrees F. (87 C) for perhaps half an hour, which is a lot more trouble than applying cool-water dye - especially given that you are not supposed to ever again reuse a cooking pot for food, once you've used it for dye, unless the dye you use is food coloring. Also, we aren't sure that the "pearls" can take any heat - what if they are made of easily melted plastic? Cool water dye would be a safer choice.