How to tea dye

Posted by Mary Welling-Bonney Dec 16, 2006

First and formost, there is no right and wrong way. It depends on the outcome you want. People use a variety of products including non-tea items such as coffee. The idea is to do whatever it takes to get that aged, sometimes grungy look. I have known people who have tea dyed items and then run over them in their car to add more authenticity to the age.

I am not including that part in these instructions.

If I am dying a large amount of fabric I tend to fill the sink with very hot water and add 10-12 tea bags. I stir them around and add the fabric stirring and pushing it into the water until it is submerged. This will age it but not intensly. If I want it more intense, I go for the instant tea. I am very generous with it because it will be diluted in the water and I can always tone the dye down.

If I want the spotted aged look after tea dying, I remove the sink stopper while leaving the fabric in the sink to drain. I immediately sprinkle instant tea across the fabric. I work it in slightly but do not blend completely.

If I am dying paper I use the same methods but if I want it blotchy, I let it dry about half way with the wet tea bags sitting on the paper after it has been soaked.

When the paper is dry it can also be burned around the edges or on the corner to give it an even more authentic look.

Have fun with it.