Guest Post | Mermaid Dress DIY from Kate

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

I asked Kate Gabrielle from Scathingly Brilliant, one of my absolute favorite bloggers, if she could do a DIY post whilst I'm busy moving - and this is what she came up with!

For my DIY post, I was inspired by Kailey's love of mermaids! I decided to create something that mimicked the pretty scaled pattern on a mermaid's fins, and came up with this easy peasy stamped dress project!

You'll need: a white cotton dress (or shirt, or skirt), two bottles of fabric paint (your main color and white), a wooden block (I stole one from my little brother's old block set), scissors, a compass, a piece of craft foam, a paintbrush and some free time.

1. With the compass, draw a half-circle onto your foam. You want it to be about the same width as the wooden block.

2. Using the half-circle as your guide, sketch in the rest of your scallop with pencil, and then cut it out.

3. Glue the piece of foam to the wooden block, making sure that the ends of the scallop are even with the top. (It's okay if the bottom of the scallop doesn't quite reach the bottom of the block :)

4. Make sure you have cardboard or something under your dress so the paint won't seep through to the back side! Then put a thin layer of fabric paint on your stamp using a paintbrush.

5. Starting at the top of the dress, stamp your first scallop. Then repeat the pattern underneath, with the next two scallops meeting in the middle of the one above.

6. For each new row, mix a little bit of white fabric paint with your other color to achieve the gradient look. This was an important part of my project because I knew that I didn't want to stamp the skirt (the gathering at the waist would have just been way too tricky to maneuver!) so I wanted it to fade to white before it hit the skirt.

7. Let your dress dry for a few hours (I let mine dry for 24 hours before I wore it, although it felt dry much sooner) and voila! You now have a brand new dress that would make any mermaid proud! :)

            You can find Kate Gabrielle sharing her love
            of pastels, cats, hayley mills, and DIY
            projects at Scathingly Brilliant, and don't
            forget to check out her etsy shop!
            Thank you again Kate ♡!

 

64 comments:

  1. How creative! I love the way it turned out :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. omg this is so perfect! <3___<3

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's so pretty, and very creative! x

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love this, especially how it fades as it progresses. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. This SO adorable and creative!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Amazing Guest Post! Great DIY Work ,looks perfect!
    i´m a new Follower

    Lovely Greetings from Austria ♡

    ReplyDelete
  7. One of the best guest posts I've seen! And such a cute DIY project! Thank you for sharing Kailey and Kate Gabrielle :)

    Melanie
    thosethingstheysaid.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for hosting this amazing Kate Gabrielle's DIY project!
    Totally one of my favorite dress ever!
    xxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  9. oh whao this is totally cool!! love it! <3

    xoxo, sundaesins.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. wow lovely idea :) thanks for sharing <3 do check my blog may be we follow each other
    www.beautifullflavya.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is so adorable! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is a wonderful DIY and shirt!
    Love the colours you used, Gabrielle.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This turned out so good! I love how easy and simple it is but how much it transforms the dress! Thanks for sharing! My wheels are turning thinking of all of the possibilities... :)

    http://subjectivelysimple.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh, intriguing :D I might try this some day.

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a beautiful idea- the result is lovely. Will certainly be checking out Kate's blog :) x

    ReplyDelete
  16. It looks amazing, I would have never guessed that print was done by hand.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Such a cute idea! I would love to try this out!
    ~Sara
    sarastrauss.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. Really cute idea! I have this boring white tank I've been trying to figure out what to do with-- thanks for the inspiration!

    http://aclosetintellectual.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh my gosh so cute Kate! I LOVE this idea!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Kate, this is lovely! :) Love it!!

    Mia
    http://miaa-moore.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  21. now I have to sew /buy a proper dress to do this! Oh my, its so freaking adorable! :D

    Liebe Grüße!

    ReplyDelete
  22. this is adorable. i want to try this with turquoise paint and a white tank top!!!

    - Rima
    http://www.bolubyrima.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. this is so wonderful! i can't wait to give it a go.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Oh gosh! This is gorgeous!

    brighton-girl.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  25. gorgeous! it would be awesome to do this on the bottom of the dress fading upwards so its like a mermaids tail

    ReplyDelete
  26. brilliant idea and it seems easy enough for a non-crafty gal like myself.

    ReplyDelete
  27. how cue is this?! i love the fade in color as i gets towards the bottom!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Aww so cute! ^..^ SO appropriate for you too, you would look so cute in this dress! :) I hope you have a safe and happy move! :) x

    ReplyDelete
  29. Also, Kailey - love your blog! Following you now. :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. That turned out so adorable! SO CUTE!

    ♥Sarah♥
    theantiquepearl.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  31. what a gorgeous diy... and now i have found your blog and i love it!

    ReplyDelete
  32. OH my god. This is one of the best DIY's I've seen! And I have some pink fabric paint.... :):):):)

    ReplyDelete
  33. Oh. My. Goodness. This is AMAZING!!!! I'm in awe! :D

    Love,
    Aya

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hey Girl,

    I am a big fan of mermaid and I just found your blog, I love it !
    <3<3<3

    ReplyDelete
  35. thats actually so smart! the look is so clean in the end, it looks like such an awesome fabric! i imagine doing the same thing on a skirt would look pretty rad as well :)

    Check me out!
    calurvillade.blogspot.com
    Paolina

    ReplyDelete
  36. This is lovely!
    Danielle x
    daniellecurio.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  37. Wow, this is awesome! The scallop gradient for each row is the best part.

    ReplyDelete
  38. This is so cool, how did you even make it that symmetrical?

    ReplyDelete
  39. Wow, I'm super impressed with this DIY - how awesome! Also, did you check out my latest giveaway? Everyone who enters wins a $15 virtual gift card to Inpink jewelry!

    ReplyDelete
  40. That is sooo freakin' cool! The end product is sooooo beautiful! Love the color.

    ReplyDelete
  41. I LOVE this! I really need to give stamping clothing a try. It seems like so much fun.

    ReplyDelete
  42. really good idea!!

    ReplyDelete
  43. oh WOW very cute idea!!!! :D

    love, polly

    ReplyDelete
  44. What a great guest post, such a fantastic idea!
    dimplesdiaries
    x

    ReplyDelete
  45. wow your blog is so beutifull I love love ypour blog, fallowing right n´now!

    ReplyDelete
  46. So in love with this tutorial! I NEED to try this!!

    ReplyDelete
  47. What a beautiful dress! Amazing xo

    ReplyDelete
  48. i love it i love it! the gradient is swell. mermaid love! lol

    ReplyDelete
  49. You guys are so inspiring, I had to make myself a mermaid dress.

    Have a look :) http://pineneedle-collective.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/diy-mermaid-dress.html

    ReplyDelete
  50. Love the graduating effect! Really elegant!

    Charley xo
    http://chiccheat.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  51. Oh, this is beautiful - I picked up a white sundress in a sale a while back that I was intending to tie dye or something, but I may end up doing something like this...maybe with a potato instead of a fancy-schmancy woodblock, but whatever.

    http://gammacamera.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  52. hiiii girl!!!
    very ver nice!!!!
    congratulations of Brazil!!!

    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  53. This is so pretty, I want to try it :)

    ReplyDelete
  54. This stuff is down t earth, hats off buds out there.
    Mermaid Dresses

    ReplyDelete
  55. What colours would you suggest with a teal and black skirt? Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  56. molto bello!!!
    candiedfruits.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by! I read (and cherish!) each and every comment, and respond to questions either via email or twitter (to make sure you see them!) ♡

Mermaidens - Musings of a Modern Mermaid ©2011-2014 All rights reserved
Portrait in Header Illustration by Sibylline Meynet designed by Designs Blue Moon