I guess I should start with the dress story. The excitement of my impending trip to France inspired me to make a dress. Not really a dress, it's the Schoolhouse Tunic. It was beautiful, made from a natural linen and I loved wearing it. The first time ... and most of the second time.
The night of the wine and cheese pairing, we stayed out on the terrace, well primed for talking. I was telling some story, gesturing with my hands as I do and well, you know. Pffftttt! (which rhymes with what I really said.) There went my glass of wine, red wine, all over the bottom of my beautiful dress. Kind Laura from the kitchen brought out a bottle of Wine Away and I excused myself to get to work. It was nearly midnight. I did what I could but it didn't seem to be working. (Actually it was doing just fine.) I applied the magic formula again. Still there. Impatient and a little panicked, I got out my travel bottle of detergent and decided to assist with stain treatment. Finally, I went to sleep and got up two hours later panicked (again) and remembering that the detergent is probably too harsh for that unbleached linen. Sure is. So at 2 a.m. I was washing my dress in the sink. The wine was indeed gone, but so was the color. Pffftttt.
At breakfast, I could laugh about it.
All was not lost, I did have the option of cutting it to a shorter length (view 2 on the pattern), but I thought I might as well bring it with me to the woad field where we were going to dye all our prewashed linens. You never know. Wow, you would not have believed the volume of linens, cottons, wools, silks that we had accumulated for the day! There must not have been a single linen sheet left in all of southern France.
So. To the woad. So, so awesome! Woad is not indigo, but is a natural dye derived from organic woad plant material. The process and formula dates back to the 15th century and is particularly important to Toulouse and its history. Originally woad blue was reserved for the Royals and the color blue has special meaning throughout French history and language (sacre bleu!). Indeed, Napoleon's troops wore uniforms dyed roughly the same way as our pieces. Minus the male urine collected outside taverns. There's a work-around for that now. But they probably didn't have as much crazy fun as we did.
Susan showed us some shibori techniques which inspired a creative flurry of wrapping, tying and stitching before dipping our pieces into the dye bath.
Here's what happens. Denise and Annette prepared woad vats in advance. There's some feeding and fermenting that reminded me of sourdough bread-making formulas. It's complicated and I'm pretty sure I'll never do this again unless Denise is there.
A clean textile made of natural material is placed into the woad bath for a few minutes.
When it's lifted out, it's yellow then greenish. But as soon as the sunlight and air reach the fiber, the color changes to blue.
And then the process is repeated again and again (sometimes up to 7 times) until it is truly, madly, deeply blue. Forever.
We dyed everything we had. All day long.
I finally consulted with Denise about my dress. Given the damaged fiber, the fabric would take the dye unevenly and the bleach flaws might still show, so I decided to experiment with some rubber bands and pleats before dipping it. Good old fashioned tie-dye, also known as shibori.
Ta-da! So pretty, right? I love it even more than the first incarnation. And the story it tells is my favorite part.
A few of us stayed out there until the last minute of sunlight.
And finally left the woad-wide web ....
To go off into the exquisitely woaded night.
Beautiful, beautiful shades of blue and your dress turned out really great! Love the color and that band of pattern...like it was always meant to be! I'm going to look up that pattern, it's adorable; thanks! PS..Glad a wine "disaster" turned into something wonderful on such an amazing trip!
Posted by: bramble | July 19, 2012 at 11:46 AM
Oh jeepers, when I saw the picture of you and your mom and daughter at the Met, I thought, " hummmmmmm, that sorta looks like one of those school house tunics that everyone raves about......should I ask?.... Naw... Maybe she'll mention it. And there you have it. I love the look of the blue "tie-dye" and it has a story. By the way, I'm sooooo enjoying this one. Xox
Posted by: Penelope | July 19, 2012 at 01:59 PM
Oh Charlotte, I'm having so much fun reading all of these posts! Every bit of it is so very dreamy and yummy. (except for the 112 heat YIKES! I would have wilted and melted and maybe even passed out. WOWSER!)
How great that the red wine vs your charming brand spanking new dress misadventure turned into something you like even better! Funny how life (sometimes) does that when you find yourself feeling woebegone, hands you a gift you like even more.
Love the woad dying - had never heard of it before - and adore your dress, both ways. Thanks so much for sharing it with us, I'll be checking it out too - you may have started something! ;)
Looking forward to the next chapter ...
Posted by: Sally | July 19, 2012 at 02:00 PM
Oh my! It was a lovely dress to begin with & even more fun after the wine incident. Thank you for the description of woading, which I had no clue as to what that was. Sounds like a wonderful experience. Can't wait to hear & see more.
Posted by: Troy Louise | July 19, 2012 at 03:12 PM
well, my friend, everything happens for a reason, doesn't it?
I lit my candle this morning - for your mom....
all good wishes.....
xo
Posted by: jone | July 19, 2012 at 04:04 PM
Charlotte,
So great to see you today at the Vintage Sale! I love the look of your "new dress"!
Stop by the shop soon!
Mary
Posted by: Mary | July 19, 2012 at 04:37 PM
What a fabulous adventure you had Charlotte!Thank you for sharing, it was a lovely way to start my day!
Jenni
Posted by: Jenni Jones | July 19, 2012 at 05:28 PM
Man, this event makes the Home Companion Workshop look like a trip to the dime store and then making paper plate projects in an un-air-conditioned garage!
I'm loving reading about it, and your dress looks great!
How will we ever get you to come back to our paltry little workshop in pitiful St. Louis??? Although it DID only get to 108 here.
Posted by: Mary Engelbreit | July 19, 2012 at 06:19 PM
Beautifully told story, beautiful woad dress!
Posted by: pamelajane | July 19, 2012 at 06:22 PM
what a great adventure your schoolhouse tunic went on to become what it is today. so often the mishaps that happen in life and sewing lead to unexpected and delightful results. the woad blue & shibori finish are too perfect!
Posted by: karyn | July 20, 2012 at 08:20 AM
Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us. I am enjoying this immensely. Your dress turned out perfect. What a memory!
Posted by: Carol | July 20, 2012 at 08:49 AM
Woad. What a funny little word, woad.
I was inspired by your tunic but am not much a seamstress. That didn't stop me from finding a favorite old shirt in my closet for an experiment. I removed the stitching to remove the collar, restitched it so it looks rather Mandarin/Nehru in style, removed the pocket, cut off the cuffs and hemmed it at the 3/4 length. Voila, a new shirt. It turned out so well, I will be selecting more old shirts for a re-do. Thanks for the idea.
Your tunic is wonderful, with or without woad. Love that word!
Posted by: karen on bainbridge island | July 20, 2012 at 10:40 AM
Oh wow! I love the color you achieved in the dye baths. I have yet to try woad, but I have used the Jacquard Indigo kits and they are fantastic and easy. Love the blue web!
Posted by: Jeannie | July 21, 2012 at 02:00 PM
Wow, enjoyed that journey of woad-doings! I like how your dress turned out. Very interesting.
Posted by: Leslie Hayes | July 21, 2012 at 03:32 PM
Charlotte, I fell off the comment cart and have been trying to climb back on ever since...I HATE when that happens! Your blog is always one of the best parts of my day and the posts from France have been just wonderful...a magical sojourn made even more so when shared by such a remarkable writer and photographer. Thanks always! xox
Posted by: Linda Warlyn | July 24, 2012 at 03:42 PM
Charlotte you clever girl! I'm mad for the serendipity dress..... definitely not a woad is me kind of garment! ;) And that silly Mary E, she knows that despite the wonders of France you will never ignore us STL girls, we just have to be supah clever next time around!
Posted by: Tina | July 26, 2012 at 11:44 AM
oh my goodness, sounds exactly what i would do. in fact i think i've spilled some grapes quite a few times waving my arms back and forth. LOL
tunic looks beautiful char!
x0x
Posted by: kL | July 26, 2012 at 11:50 AM
I love the resurrection story of your dress! That's true creativity. I've been thinking about the schoolhouse tunic. You liked the pattern?
Posted by: Melissa | July 28, 2012 at 09:54 PM