Dying Bridesmaid shoes...

[has]

Sorry, don't know what section to put this in. Can anyone tell me who would dye some bridemaid shoes. I know many companies do this, presumably if you purchase the shoes from themselves. However, the ones I have chosen come from Bhs. Any ideas anyone??

[Goodsoulette]

What are they made of and what colour would you like them to be? You may be able to do this yourself.

[has]

They are made from dyeable satin & I need them to match a wine/burgundy coloured dress.
I was thinking about doing it myself, but isn't it very messy?
How will the finished article look? It may be patchy for example?

[Goodsoulette]

as long as the shoes are scrupulously clean its very easy, if they have any grease on them the it will be patchy. You also need to bare in mind what colour they are now> If there is any stitching which might be made of something that wont take the dye?

Dylon make a special satin shoe dye or the multipurpose dye will be suitable and they have a bordeaux colour or you can mix to achieve the right colour.

Basically you get the die, mix it with very hot water (fixes the dye), about a pint and keep adding the dye until the couolour is right. Then you sponge the dye onto the shoes.

You can keep repeating the process over a few days (needs at least 16 hours to dry out properly and give you a good idea of how they look) but the result isnt colourfast, so keep them dry.

Im sure if you go to the dylon website or your local haberdashers ad they will give you the right equipment.

[Lil O'lady]

If they are satin you can also dye them with silk fabric paint - several brands exist eg pebeo - which you can use straight or dilute with water / mix with other silk dye colours to create the sahde you're after. This can be done cold - leave to dry and fix in a warm environemtn eg near a radiator. This method allows you to start pale and intensify the shade if you need to. Tip - get some cheapo ones from BHS or ballet-pump types to practice on before you go ahead on your best ones.
They will not be waterproof but satin shoes wouldn't be anyway.