Tea Dyeing

[Ruth]

Hi Folks,I'm sure someone will be able to answer my query ; I have 2 antique ,lace trimmed petticoats that I want to use snippets from to make tiny bear dresses.I thought I might use tea to lightly dye the pieces (I haven't actually cut any yet - too scared - I've had them nearly 2 years so I'm working my way up to it :rolleyes: ) Would I need to use a mordant,or fixative ? Any advice would be greatly appreciated :6091:
Ruth :6034:

[shelly]

Hi Ruth, I've dyed lace before with tea and coffee, I did some lace curtains once. Personally I wouldn't bother fixing it because it's unlikely that it would be washed. Maybe you could find some other lace to try the depth of colour first so you know how strong to make the tea. I think Yvonne has used tea before, I'm sure I saw something in one of the old threads.
Hope this helps , good luck.

:6086: :6087:

[Angela]

Hello Ruth,

when I dye cotton or linen ribbons I only use a strong coffee or tea and as it comes (without fixative or mordant). I usually put in the material when the coffee/tea is still hot and then I just leave it in over at least 6 hours up to 24 hours. After rinsing, the colour stays in very well.

Coffee gives a very warm but light brown and depending on how strong the tea is made, it makes a very, very light brown - near to beige.

Hope this helps :)

[Ruth]

Thanks so much Shelly and Angela ; I knew I'd get the answers on here! ;) I have to confess to being a very nervous "dyer" :6086: :6086:
Ruth

[Vicky Allum]

Hi Ruth

I quite often dip lace or linen in a bit of tea to take the bright white edge off. I find it works quite well if you make sure that the lace is wet first dip it in for a little while, then whip it out and rinse, if it's not dark enough dip it in again and repeat. Then if you want the edges more aged, squeeze the water out of the lace then you can pat them with a wet tea bag or just dip the edges in again for a darker effect. I know it won't wash out, I have some cotton that was dyed with tea and I decided it was too dark, but I couldn't get it out - not even bleach would shift it!

[Ruth]

Thanks Vicky , all I have to do now is work up the courage to cut the petticoats!! :D When I first got them I felt it would be a terrible thing to do ; someone spent ages making them - one even has the wearers initials beautifully embroidered on it :o - but as I've now had them sooo long , stuck inside a box , I think perhaps using them in a creative way is a fitting tribute to all their original effort ! :6044: :6017:
Ruth

[shelly]

Go for it Ruth just snip away. Just think of it as recyling.

:6086:

[Vicky Allum]

I know how you feel Ruth, I've had a couple of antique dresses that I just couldn't use because they were either damaged or just weren't built to fit teddy proportions. I did alter them in the end, but it took me a while to pluck up the courage. When something has survived so long pretty much intact, it makes you feel real bad cutting it up, but in the end I just decided they'd only stay in the draw not being appreciated if I didn't use them:)

Go for it!