Tea Dying Tips

By

T&T Grandma

I would use Rit instead of tea. You can always undo the Rit with Rit Remover if you don't like it. Tea, you keep what you do. Wash the curtains first, there are Rit products to use that is good, as well as using the Rit Remover before you begin. I used to have to wear color specific uniform and I would make all mine white, and they ere all polyester or cotton blend and then dye them. Just be careful to follow directions, fabric must be wet.

Do not use front loader washer, you can not color check. Do not let washer complete the cycle and dump without checking the color. I have a suds saver and so I can send it to there, draw it back again to run it through. Also make sure your washer is clean. Run hot water, detergent and bleach through the wash. I don't do it for all I dye, just things like drapes, curtains, fabrics to sew, etc. Then wash out afterward the same way.

Oh, If you get your color you want, Toss into a warm washer bath (when done) of 1 cup table salt. This helps set the color. I do my polyster frilly dining room curtains. Got through several years of redying them the same color they originally were. They sun faded on the south side of the house. Good Luck.

By

thriftmeg

My biggest caution when it comes to using tea to dye anything with polyester is to tell you to be aware that tea and coffee are acidic and can, over time cause deterioration of the cloth it is dyed with. I would recommend therefore that you use the Rit tea dye product or perhaps an herbal tea bag. I would experiment with small swatches of similar material and herbal tea bags.

By

redhatterb

You also want to make sure there aren't any grease stains from food.

I have a white floor-length flared skirt (lots of cotton and linen material) that I desperately want to dye. I'm going for a dusky, vintage, brown look, like something out of a thrift store.