My fabric swatches got soaked in a surprise downpour on Tuesday
I was walking back from the store with a bag of new linen samples when the sky just opened up. The colors ran together on three of my best picks, making this weird watercolor effect I actually kind of love. Has anyone tried intentionally dyeing fabric with a similar bleed technique?
Look at the outcome and work backwards. If the result is good for them, assume it was on purpose. I've seen this play out before where a "mistake" gives someone cover to do what they really wanted. You stop asking if it was planned and start asking what they gain from it being seen as an accident.
Absolutely love what you're saying about the watercolor effect... that's exactly what happened with a batch of my old t-shirts I left out in the rain last summer. I had some plain cotton shirts I was testing for a project and they got drenched on the line, and the dye bled into these soft, hazy patterns I never could have planned. I ended up calling it a happy accident too, but honestly I've been trying to recreate that same look on purpose ever since with no luck. It's like nature just decided to do something better than I could have, and now I'm stuck chasing that spark. So yeah, I'd say run with it and see where the bleed takes you.