Tea dying

piecemaker1 · Post by **piecemaker1** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 3:03 am

Has anyone tea dyed fabric before? I have dyed muslin, but never tried fabric with a print. I would like to try to darken a print just a little. I'd appreciate to hear what worked for you.

piecemaker

Redtop · Post by **Redtop** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 4:23 am

I have dyed muslin and light colored prints. I had good luck with both fabrics. I would suggest that you dye a small piece of the fabric before you do the entire yardage. I have also used strong coffee.

sewcarolyn · Post by **sewcarolyn** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 5:56 am

I have dyed fabric with tea for years for costumes. wash your fabric then test a sample as suggested by Redtop. The thing I have learned (the hard way) is to make sure you set your tea dye if the fabric is going to be washed. Laundry soap will often do a great job of removing your tea dye. there are several ways to set the dye.

Make sure that after you soak the fabric run it under cold water you will loose color but just like hair dye you will get rid of the dye that didn't set. When the fabric dries it will be slightly lighter. If you want it darker return it to the tea bath. A medium light tan color takes about an hour. If you want a darker dye leave it in overnight. A large pan in relationship to the amount of fabric is
important to decrease the mottled effect (if that is what you want tightly wad your fabric)

when you like the results set your color by drying it on high until almost dry then use a hot iron on it, this sets the color and you won't lose it when you wash it, nor will it bleed to other fabrics is it gets wet. If it is a garment or something that will be washed alot I soak my fabric in salt water or alum, then rinse again before drying.

coffee gives a nice color too but it often has a smell so rinse thoroughly. I have decreased the smell by adding fabric softener to the salt water bath.

Just a caution the tannic acid does degrade the fabric and coffee degrades less than tea. If using coffee I like to save the left over from my coffee pot over several days, let it sit somewhere until it becomes thick, (remove the mold) and use it as your base. The color is a richer brown and sets easily.

this is probably more than you wanted but the most important thing is to set the dye or when you wash it using modern soap it can become a crisp clean white again (I had to hurry and re-do a dyed shirt once just hours before a production when a well meaning Mom took some shirts home to wash after an evening show)

MAWmum · Post by **MAWmum** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 7:03 am

I was going to answer but I think that we have an expert and I can't add anything to what Carolyn said as a matter of fact I learned something thanks Carolyn!

tiggeriffic02 · Post by **tiggeriffic02** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:48 pm

Darn I wish I would have read this before. I had tea dyed a piece of fabric I used on my curtains. I washed them and poof it is gone. I was so sad it was so perfect. So I have to do it again and trust me I will set it this time.
Kathy

sunsup · Post by **sunsup** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 4:30 pm

Great information. Thanks Carolyn.

sewcarolyn · Post by **sewcarolyn** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 5:39 pm

glad to help I love dying fabric. I want to dye fabric and make a quilt for my H for our 25th--good thing I still have a couple of years.

it is important to set the dye it is terrible when you have it perfect and it dries lighter..or it washes out.

QuiltinKay · Post by **QuiltinKay** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:30 pm

Carolyn just about said it all. Just remember it dries lighter than when it is wet and I have found that once it is set it is every difficult to lighten.I tea dyed a pillow sham and then tried to bleach it out but was never able to get it white again.....But when yous scruch the fabric and dye it you get a lovely mottled effect...

.....Kay

cindyg · Post by **cindyg** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 3:58 am

Caution: tannic acid in tea can damage/weaken your fabric. I read in a quilt mag that we should use tan dye such as Rit which is dye made for fabric. Just my 2 cents.

sewcarolyn · Post by **sewcarolyn** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:40 am

cindy is right about the tannic acid. Most of my costuming books all recommend coffee for that reason. Fabric dyes, such as RIT are great but the color can be more difficult to control since they saturate faster. The tannic acid can start degrading your fabric in 35-40 years. There are some tea dye products on the market that are also very effective, just remember that dyes are a chemical and they bond to the fabric, and can also, over time, degrade the integrity of the fabric. I also suggest making sure that fabric is not twisted during the dying process because as you break the fibers you also aid in the aging of the fabric. One of my professors (yup I took fabric and textiles classes in college) said to scrunch but not twist. He said he could hear fibers crying when they were twisted

the commercial brand I like is dharma...just my opinion

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