I'm sewing two flower girl dresses for a wedding in August. The main body of the fabric is silk taffeta, and there is an overlay on the skirt of silk chiffon. Both of these fabrics are white. I'm also doing a sash in tiffany blue silk shantung.
Question: Should/can I prewash any of these? In my ideal world, my plan is to dye the dress after the wedding so that my daughter can continue to wear it as a party dress. Does anyone have experience with this?
From what I've been able to find on the internet, it seems as though the chiffon might shrink, and the taffeta will lose some body. If I don't pre-wash, then put the completed dress in water to dye it, what will happen?