Saturday, February 11, 2012

Tea-Dying Tutorial

Anyone who is everyone can dye something with tea. Its so simple and the effect it gives your garment is really wonderful.
I decided my little cream-and-lace tank needed a vintage makeover! Here is what I did, step by step.

1) Fill a large pot 3/4 full with water. Set on low heat (you don't want it to boil) and let it warm up.
2) (Optional) Tie your garment into sections. This will "fade" the aging effect (making it look even more vintage) If you don't tie it up the color will not fluctuate as much, and will be a more over all sepia when finished.
3) When your pot is warm (warm enough that it almost burns you to touch it, but not quite) add 6-8 tea bags. Adding less will make the color less, and more will make it stronger (just like tea! lol)
 4) Let the tea sit for 5-10 minutes. Then squeeze all the tea out of your bags, making sure not to burn yourself!
5) Add your twisty tied garment or fabric. (tell your man dinner is almost ready harrharr)
6) Let it sit in there (I poked mine with a stick) on warm for 5-10 minutes. Really, its up to you. Just make sure to leave it in for at least 5, so the color stays
Make sure to lay it flat to dry (if you hang it before drying, the color might run downward).
And thats it! Have fun tea dying yourself, your house, your friends and your socks. :)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a very nice tutorial. I'd make one myself. But how's the smell and how many washes does it take before the color fades?

Moonofsilver said...

The color fades a bit but it seems to stay in things I've tea dyed (I only hand-wash after dyeing). As for the smell, it does smell like tea, but after one wash this goes away.