Fabric Dying...

[sailorastarte]

Hi there. OK. I am a dang good seamster, meaning I can sew pretty much anything under the sun, but the one thing about costume construction that I cannot seem to master is DYING FABRIC!
I am making an EDEA costume, and, as anyone knows, she has this FABULOUS gradient on her dress, flowing from lilac to purple to black. I JUST CAN"T FIGURE IT OUT!!
So, if anyone has any ideas as to what I should do... please please please post something.
I know that the type of fabric has alot to do with how it will dye, but just remember, EDEA's costume is FORM FITTING... so I am trying to use fabric with as much stretch as possible.
Just let me know!!!

[WINGS]

I would actually get a fabric paint that has give once dry. I think it is called textile paint. Find the right colors and then gradiate the paint up the dress. Experiment with different painting strokes before doing the real thing.
WINGS

[sailorastarte]

yes, I have also thought about that, but what color of fabric do I need to start with. Obviously, the majority of the dress is black, so my natural choice would be black. But, then how do I get the gradient part to be light enough that the paint would show. I have tried some spray fabric paint and it was a disaster. I have tried bleaching the black to white, by dunking one end in a SUPER HEAVY bleach concentration, but it wouldn't bleach, and If given too much time, the bleach would disolve the fabric. SO, I am at a loss... Any other thoughts?

[mindtailor]

You could always try the opposite of the bleach... get a light colour (like the lilac, maybe) and dye the opposite end black, then work with the paint.

[sailorastarte]

Do you think that I would be able to dye the fabric dark enough to where it needs to be black? And is there a specific type of paint or dye that you would use for this? I have tried RIT and it doesn't do very well.