Update: My fabric dye ran at a big show in Austin and everyone told me to scrap the piece

I was setting up my booth for the Austin Fashion Week pop-up last month when I saw the blue from my silk jacket had bled onto the white linen pants. The whole look was ruined right before judging. Most people said to pull it from the show, but I grabbed some white fabric paint and a thin brush. I turned the bleed marks into tiny, intentional cloud shapes along the seam. The judges actually loved the 'watercolor effect' and asked where I got the fabric printed. Has anyone else saved a piece from a dye disaster with a quick fix?

3 comments

3 Comments

felix_lane9916d agoMost Upvoted

Honestly though, isn't that just covering up a real mistake? I mean, you're at a professional show and the dye ran. That's a basic quality control fail. Painting over it is a band-aid fix, not real design. What if the paint cracks later or reacts with the fabric? It sets a bad example that rushing a fix is okay instead of owning the error and making a better piece from scratch next time.

andrew_rodriguez16d ago

Used to agree with that take, but seeing it work out so well here makes a strong case for fixing things on the fly.

anderson.david16d ago

That "band-aid fix" is sometimes the only thing between a total loss and a finished piece.