UGGH! Anna Dress Glitter Problems

So, I finally got around to finishing the last details on the Anna dress!  Yay!  But that meant it was time to wash it once and see what happened.  The regular paint I used and then heat set with the iron stayed just fine and looks great!  The glitter paint that I used washed off.  :(  The glitter just made it look so good!  So, I had to find another solution.

Since I did not have time to go anywhere but Wal-Mart I had to use what they had in their craft department.  I found Tulip Glitter Dimensional Fabric Paint in the Diamond Color.  However, I did not want it dimensional - so I squirted some in a little paper cup and used a brush to brush it on and I think it worked!  Of course I won't be sure until I wash it, but that isn't happening for a couple of days.  One of the littles got invited to a last minute princess birthday party tomorrow and let's just say there will be a surprise guest and this dress will be perfect!!!!  Good thing we have Disney coming up and good thing I started with this dress!  I will have to post pictures after the big event happens tomorrow.

Anyways - back on subject.  I did have to paint it on without the stencil so there may be a few out of the lines glitter spots.  One of my questions about doing it this way is can this product be heat set with the other paint.  I know it doesn't have to be, but it would allow me to paint the glitter on while the stencil is still on.  If it shouldn't be heat set then I will have to always paint and hope I can stay in the lines after heat setting the other paint.  I am going to play around with it when I get a second so that I will know for next time.  In the mean time lets just hope this one doesn't wash off.  I am going on the assumption that since it is an actual fabric paint it won't, but stranger things have happened.

Princess Anna Dress is almost done!

Well, there are probably going to be a lot of sewing posts in the near future.  I have a list of projects a mile long and a good chunk of them involve sewing!

We have a pending Disney World trip coming up and my 2 little girls have requested various princess dresses to wear in the parks.  I am making 2 everyday princess dresses for each of them - assuming I don't run out of time!  The first up is an Anna dress for the soon to be 8 year old.

I am going to admit that the dress is not quite done, but I was so excited by how it turned out that I have to post it now!!!!  What is left

1. Hem the darker blue underskirt.
2. Heat press the stenciled parts to seal the paint to the fabric.
3. Cut a whole bunch of little strings and pull out a few around the waistline.
4. Wash it to get the white residue the freezer paper left behind off.  It didn't leave it everywhere, but you can see where it did.

But without further ado I give you the almost finished Anna Dress!

For this dress I worked off of two dress patterns and I did a bit of adapting as well.   Both patterns were purchased on Etsy.

Princess Party Dress

The Sugarplum Princess Dress

The part that scared me the most was the painting!  I had never done freezer paper stenciling before.  I bought a template here:Princess Anna Vest and Skirt Templates Only.  I converted this file into something my silhouette cameo could cut.  Made for a much better template!  Yay!  And I can cut them forever and to my hearts content!  Double Yay!

 As usual I can't get the pictures to go exactly where I want, but oh well.  On the close up of the bodice you can see some slight white residue.   See # 7 below or #4 above for an explanation as to what that is.











Things I would do differently and notes to remember:

1. Think of putting the glitter on before removing some of the stencils.  That's what happens when you realize you have some cool glitter paint after taking off the 1st round of stencils!
2. I would have done the stenciling after cutting out the pieces, but prior to sewing anything together.  I mean had this gone badly I would have had to start all over again!  If I had done it before doing any sewing I could have just cut out whatever piece I messed up on and it is flat so you can do the whole skirt at once instead of in sections like I had to.
3. Put cardboard or card stock or something under where you are painting and leave it until the paint has dried.  There is a good possibility the paint with seep through the fabric and onto whatever is beneath it.
4. I shirred the back and then sewed the bodice together.  Then I sewed that to the skirts after gathering them.  I am still debating if this was worth the reasons I did it that way.  It made the bodice more difficult to attach to the skirt as you had to stretch the back bodice out as you sewed them together, but if you do it after everything is assembled you have to manipulate the whole dress through the machine.  I think I will try assembling it first on the next dress.
5. Have a picture of the color scheme near me while painting.  I swear the leaves at the bottom of Anna's dress were all green, but apparently there is some purple down there as well.  Not critical, but makes it a little less authentic.  I think I like the way mine looks better though! 
6. I used the following products on this dress for the stenciling.  I had them all on hand except the fabric medium which I got at Michaels.

•  Acrylic craft paint
•  Martha Stewart Tintable Fabric Medium (there are other brands, but this is what I found at Michaels)
•  DecoArt Craft Twinkles in the Crystal color - see here for why not!
•  Freezer Paper
•  Various sponge brushes and paint brushes

7) I want to find a different template material.  The freezer paper worked o.k. for me, but it left a bit of itself behind in a few places which did not thrill me.  It is likely I was doing something wrong - not waiting until the paint was completely dry - maybe, but I have some other ideas and will likely try them the next time a project like this comes around.

I may add to this list as I think of other things, but those are the main ones I can think of right now.

Well, hopefully you enjoyed seeing this finished piece.  I love how it turned out and more importantly my almost 8 year old lit up when I had her try it on.  She is in love with it!