I wanted to antique some muslin for a red-work project, but I did not want to haul out all my dye supplies for a small project. So I decided to dye with tea and coffee. I used the cheapest tea and instant coffee I could find an plain table salt to make it more color fast. I used 2 tablespoons per cup. I dyed fat eighths and fat quarters in coffee mugs. I dissolved both tea and coffee and salt in boiling water, filling the mug about 3/4 full and then wet the fabric, scrunched it up good and submersed it into the cup, leave undisturbed for about 4-5 hours. The colors in the photo are a bit more washed out than in reality but the colors are subtle not vibrant. I am not sure how fade proof the fabric is but it is washed and I used retayne to set color. Since I am going to use these pieces to make some mug rugs I think future coffee and tea stains will only enhance the finished project over time. Since only tea, coffee and salt was used it is an easily accessible technique and I like the idea of making mug rugs from this fabric....Now I have to work on the embroidery, I have some nice mug designs that should be perfect.
In order this is what I used,
1. undyed, for color change refference
2. tea bags, at least six, color a bit more orange
3. coffee, quarter cup of instant, nice brownish tan
4. mud made from some left over red and green dye ( I was doing some sweat shirts for Christmas.) hints of red and green but a little dark for embroidery
5.unknown herbal tea I didn't like the taste of, pinkish hue
6. Tea with a little coffee, more grayish

Nice and easy tute and all ingredients except the mud are on hand all the time. Thank you for showing these. I like the one w/the mud. Could one use rit dyes to make a mud of their own?

Thanks! I am glad you shared your knowledge.

I have never use it for this and to honest I do not much like Rit Dyes. I use Procion or a fiber reactive dye. Dyeing is not very complex and I do mine in zip lock bags on the kitchen table. I get my supplies from Dharma Trading but procion dyes are readily available from most art supply stores. I use plain salt and sodium carbonate as a dye fixer. Sodium carbonate is also called washing soda but you can get it very cheap at pool supply stores. You will also need Synthropol which is a soap to so the final wash in. I use my washer, with no staining problems. If you want to get a dye book I highly recommend "Hand Dyed Fabric Made Easy" by Adriene Buffington. I get some really fabbo fabs with the zip lock method. It is hard to get it wrong.
I suggest you go to Dharma's web site and look around you might like what you see. They have wonderful blanks to dye and that is where I get my sweat and Tee Shirts for dyeing. I also recommend their bamboo socks, even if you don't dye them. They are softest, warmest socks I have ever had and every year my kids make a special request for them. I pop a couple of pair in the zip lock bag so they have matching socks. If you want to you could also try making mud with very dilute craft paint half paint and half water. Mix red and green for a brownish mud, wet the cloth, scrunch it up and stick it in a smallish container. You really want it scrunched in. Might be a good use for old butter tubs or cheapo plastic containers, even an old jam jar would work. You will have to leave it at least overnight but it can be rinsed out in the sink and heat set with your iron. I mean really what do you have to lose? Just some time and a little muslin.

Thank you so much for the lesson, will definitely check out the site and book you recommended.

Thank you very much for the tute and all of the wonderful information :D:D:D

I bought that book when I first wanted to try dyeing my own fabrics and it really is great. I also buy all of my dyes from Dharma as well as my pfd fabrics and tshirts etc that I hand paint designs on. They are great and their service is excellent. I also do all of my dyeing in the kitchen in ziplock bags.

i love tea dyed muslin, but they don't carry it wide.

i have wanted to try this,using unbleached muslin, in the washing machine with larger pieces,i think i will now! thanks for the tutorial!

should the piece be washed first,to get any chemicals out of it, that came from the company?

should the piece be washed first,to get any chemicals out of it, that came from the company?[/quote]

Unless the seller specifies ready for dye always wash first to get rid of any sizing.

I bought that book when I first wanted to try dyeing my own fabrics and it really is great. I also buy all of my dyes from Dharma as well as my pfd fabrics and tshirts etc that I hand paint designs on. They are great and their service is excellent. I also do all of my dyeing in the kitchen in zip-lock bags.[/quote]

Yes it is a wonderful company...have you tried the bamboo socks? Sooo comfy. Also the silk scarves....did you know you can color them using sharpie markers and rubbing alcohol....an almost instant result..really vibrant colors and a kid friendly craft. I just did some Christmas themed fabric, using a Chinese red and a forest green. I wanted an ombre effect so I pleated some muslin, 2yards, tightly into a plastic tub and used red on one end and green on the other hoping they would meld into the center with a nice brown mud. Then I scrumpled another 2yards on the top and poured some bronze over it hoping for some dyes to absorb up and add some color. and another yard scrumpled on top with no dye poured over it;then I squished it down a bit and put another tub over it to add light pressure. I love the crystalline forms I got. Big surprise though was where the green and red met I got a lot of dark maroon and not brown. I did get my ombre though. So 2yards of very high color, 2yards of some color and a lot of neutral and one yard of very light tanish scrumple. A great result.

Just remember if you are going to use fiber reactive dyes the fabric must sit in the dye bath for at least 5-6hours or better yet 24 hours. I would recommend this rather than the washing machine. get a plastic tub, I use kitty litter trays from the dollar tree, big enough to fully hold your yardage. I like a crystalline effect so I scrumple, if you don't want that you will have to stir the dye bath. If you are doing more than five yards then get a big bucket. Check with a dye formula but I use one quarter cup salt, four tablespoons washing soda, to a gallon of water. Also you will need 1-2 teaspoons of dye. A low dye bath will do about 3-4 yards of fabric, a more comprehensive all over dye will need more liquid. You can lighten colors by adding more plain water. Mix your liquids in your container. Wet your cloth....I just run it through a rinse cycle in the washer. add your fabric, scrunch down, leave or if you want an even tone, stir it and make sure no fabric pokes up over the water. Leave for 24 hours. Now if you have only one color going you can dump out the extra liquid, not down the drain but out on the grass, it won't hurt it. Put the fabric in the washer and run through a full cycle, once done run again with some retayne, dry in the dryer. If you are using more than one color you will have to rinse and rinse in the sink before the washer to get out most of the extra dye and prevent accidental mud. I hope this is clearer....than say mud....A book with good dye formulas is very helpful.

Thanks for the info!
my mom, who is english and still lives there, tea dyed a carpet in her bedroom. it was wool and different colors of "creams",sort of marbled looking. ..it turned out beautiful!

Thanks!

THank you. Your colors are pretty.

If you use the method with the ziplock bags how to we modify the dye formula? This may be a stupid question but I cant get I want to dye fabrics but I am afraid of making a huge mess of my kitchen.

how about other stuff to dye with?
our ancestors were very invetive way 100 or so years ago!

even people living in the depression used makeshift coloring.....

but am going to try the tea and coffee, like antique look!

You can use leaves, flowers, bark, etc. to dye too.

There is also a pound method. For example you lay a leaf inside a fold of your fabric and pound it until the fluid is release and it leaves a leaf print.

This is a low water dye method and it is not all that messy. I can usually clean up any splashes in the sink right away. I do have a bunch of Dollar Tree cat litter boxes that I put the full bags into just in case there is a leak. I then leave them to incubate on the back porch, but I have a very small kitchen. Until you plunge in and do you will never know how easy and mess free this can be. I like the crystalline patterning so I usually put a yard in one gallon bag. My dye stuffs are contained in two smallish totes and stored away until use. I don't find it a problem, but if you are hesitant then wait till summer and do your dyeing outside. All you need is Hot water to mix your fixer solution and that is mess free and done in a gallon jug.

I did this a while back, and it was so much fun! Of course, I live in the South, so I just went out on the deck and made a big ol' mess!

I bought some 108" wide muslin from Hobby Lobby once but it was about 6 years ago. Even got it on sale. I didn't know it was hard to get.