Originally Posted by brookemarie19
So how do I tea dye things? just make some tea and put it in a plastic tub with the flour sacks? How long do you keep it in there?
You can get some good tutorials by googling "How to tea dye fabric." The method I have used is to make some very strong tea like you would make for starting iced tea. Use maybe half a dozen tea bags or a couple family size tea bags and add to a couple quarts of very hot water. Let it steep until it turns very dark. Wet whatever you want to tea dye with clear water first, wring it out til just damp, then immerse it on the strong tea. This makes it dye evenly. You may want to stir it around a bit, too. Lift the fabric up and look at it as you stir it. When it appears to be the color you want, its NOT ready yet. ;o) Let it get darker because some of the tea will rinse out and it will also dry several shades lighter. When you think its dark enough, remove and rinse in cold water til the water runs clear. (Save the tea in case you want to redo it.) I dry mine in the dryer. Take some white muslin and do a test batch and you will get the idea. Check out some of the tutorials, too.
... If you want to tea dye stuff so its sort of blotchy (to make it more antique looking) you can put it into the tea without dampening it first, and you can dab the leftover tea bag onto the fabric and make darker spots, as well. This method works well for making antique looking cloth dolls,etc. (I wear rubber gloves so I can get in there and swish it around.) Enjoy.