I'm only looking to 'knock off' some of the sharpness. I would be happy with a kinda of antique white look. And I don't expect the vinyl to hold any of the dye or even tea stain - just the flannel fibers on the back. This is a large piece - about 86" wide by about 70" high so I was thinking about folding it over once and using the bathtub or folding it a couple of times and using a large bin we have for storing stuff in our motorhome. I like the tea dye idea, but it sure would take a lot of tea bags!!! I do have some scraps to play with, I'll try that first and let you know. I'm also wondering about using a spray bottle rather than soaking it. But I bet it would look splotchy if I did that.
Thanks for all your comments and help. This is a great board to get all kinds of information.