Brightly coloured clothes

[ailbhe]

I have searched H&M, Mothercare, Mamas & Papas, Pumpkin Patch, Toys/Babies'R'Us, Marks and Spencer, Primark, Next, Kiddicare, and even Not Just Pink And Blue. The latter are out of stock of almost everything in the 0-3 months size, and all the others can offer me is these three from Next. All I want is vests (onesies to Americans) and babygros (sleepsuits) in bright, vivid colours - especially vests, since that's what this August baby is most likely to be wearing. I don't want patterns or logos and - gods forbid - cartoon characters. Just plain, vivid colours. Not biscuit or lemon or pink or baby blue. Not even that watery green.

I refuse to try home dying again after the disastrous experiences I've had with it before. I seem jinxed for home dying. It's a surefire way to end up washing my face in water that something has bled colour into via my facecloth, and wearing underwear with weird trim and elastic.

So - do I order 'em all from the Happy Baby Slings lady, who is kind and understanding and really, really not cheap? Or has anyone a suggestion I haven't tried yet?

http://www.dribblefactory.com/ - nothing remotely suitable

http://www.sunshinetots.co.uk/ - Apparently have long-sleeved vests; "This 100% cotton long sleeved vest is generously cut, poppers under the crotch and has a Bright Bots character embroidered on the front. Colour: pink, red, blue, purple"

http://www.basics4baby.co.uk/ - have no unisex section at all.

Nordic Kids have a possible, though it's striped.

Jako-O have yellow, red and blue vests, though their pictures make the red look pretty pink. They also have a fairly bright orange sleepsuit.

Comments

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

hm. i am quite proficient with the dyeing, and with much better, colour-fast dye than the powders one gets in regular stores. is there something at dharma trading that looks good to you? or some other noram source of blanks? might be worth a try if other sources are expensive or just plain unavailable. i'd love to do something for you.

[ailbhe]

Oooh, the potential! I want one of EVERYTHING!

http://dharmatrading.com/html/eng/2834745-AA.shtml
http://dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1723-AA.shtml
http://dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1559-AA.shtml

These three are the basic garment I am looking for, here called "vests" and often called "onesies" in the US for reasons best known to someone else. However, the size I'm looking for here in the UK is called "0-3 months" and for babies up to 14 or 15lb. I have NO IDEA how that translates in terms of inches, or non-preshrunk-cotton, or anything.

Linnea had several T-suits in various tie-dyes - this shape thing: http://dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1561-AA.shtml - which meant she was a boy to everyone who saw her. I should call my friend on *this* side of the Atlantic and see what it would cost to have her dye some plain white vests.

I really, really mean it about not being able to do home-dyeing. At this stage, the only kinds I'd trust not to run involve chemicals I won't use while pregnant. I could probably make plain white cotton run if I tied string around it and sat it in a bowl of clear water.

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

ok, here's my proposal -- let's do a trial run. i order a sample set of these (it will not break the bank for me), and dye them. i'll then boil them on the stove top together with some of my dish drying towels and laundry detergent to make sure the dye job can withstand european washing machine temperatures. my towels don't care about what colours they become (they're plain white diapers). if the colours bleed, oh well; i'll donate the thingies with an appropriate label to goodwill. if it works well, you can have those, and i'll take orders for more if you like (and as the babe grows), for which we'll work out the price (i would think that materials and shipping should still come out more cheaply than buying commercial).

any particular colours you like? i have the CMY primaries and can mix pretty much any secondary, though i can't guarantee a particular shade.

i love dyeing. i've done a lot with natural dyes too; i grow plants especially for dyeing, and get a lot of fun out of experimenting. these dyes i bought for dyeing cotton gauze for airy-fairy clothes (that i have yet to make). they're procyon dyes, actual professional dyes used in garment manufacturing. and they did not bleed all over me afterwards, though i didn't boil the cotton. we shall see.

[ailbhe]

Oooh, thank you! Actually, things are washed at 40C or 60C in this house, but my dye jobs still bleed. Everywhere. It's hopeless. And, come to think of it, I might wash things hotter if we got thrush.

I like bright colours! but not lime green or electric yellow. I have a bit of a Thing about orange; Linnea and I wear a lot of it. And purple! But I can't be having with pink at all until the child is old enough to be well-established as Not That Pink.

I'm not that picky - no, honestly, don't laugh, I'm not! - I just wanted plain bright solid colours. And they are incredibly hard to come by, even internationally.

Which of the three versions would you think will dye best? *Ideally* I'd like to go for the cheapest, have it come out perfect, and get six or nine or something, since they're in packs of three. But I'm aware that that may be unrealistic :)

25 days to baby, apparently. Yikes.