Q&A for How to Dye Fabric With Tea

Yes, you should.

It doesn't matter. It's all about the depth of color, and caffeine won't affect color saturation.

I don't think so. I have tried it, and it still came out white.

It is probably better to use the fresh tea from tea bags. Iced tea is mostly made up of water, and therefore probably would only dye the fabric very slightly and take a long time to do so.

Yes, you can. Only the light parts will change, so you'll have a tea-and-black item.

It doesn't actually go into a salt bath. You add the salt to the water before you boil it, then steep the tea, then put the fabric into the steeped tea.

Your results will be very unreliable and will likely wash out, so I don't recommend it.

No, please refer to Part 2, "Submerging the Fabric" above. Man-made or synthetic fabrics are designed particularly to resist stain, thus they will also resist the tea dyeing. Use only natural fiber fabrics such as cotton, silk, linen, and wool.

For ombré, you’d need to soak the darkest part first, then lower more in every 15 min or so. For tie dyeing, you’d wrap with rubber bands just like you would for normal tie dying .

The tea will stain the sink, but you can remove the stain with a non-abrasive scrub, such as Soft Scrub or Bar Keeper's Friend. (You can also use plain soap and water and the scrub side of a kitchen sponge, but that requires more elbow grease.)

White vinegar gives the best results when you rinse out the tea, and salt should be added in the tea once you put it on the stove to boil.

I assume so, but it probably depends on the fabric the item is made from. Cotton works best for this.

You can do either, but the fibers seem to take the color better when the tea is still hot.

Just dip/hang the parts that you want colored in the tea, and leave the rest of the fabric out.

No, it will fade over time. It is advised to hand-wash tea-stained fabrics to stop it from fading more quickly, but the more you wash it, the more it'll fade.

If you use enough tea, it should work. It is not recommended to use fabrics in colors that are darker than light brown. I used this method on a pink skirt, and it worked pretty well.

When setting the color at the end, you should use white vinegar.

There is no such thing. Either use Dylon dye or normal drinking tea bags. The tea has a light natural dye that will make clothes an aged brown or off white.

You can try washing it a couple of times but tea is a fairly permanent dye. You may need to bleach the fabric white again.

Yes, the amount of caffeine does not affect the color of the tea water, therefore it will not affect the color of the dye.

I haven't tried that yet, but based on my experiences with different colored tea, like green and black, I think it would. Mind you, it would be very light and brown tinted, but the rose color would be there.

Yes, just determine shrinkage before you do. If it has been in the dryer before, it will be okay.

Yes, just follow the same directions. They will be very pretty, lace and all.

This depends on the fabric color. If it’s white, you can try bleaching it, or if you don’t have bleach, 3% hydrogen peroxide can remove some stains. You can also try a Tide pen, or soaking the fabric in cold water and scrubbing.

No but it might take color unevenly and have a blotchy result. If that’s the effect you want, give it a try.

No, it won't work. A tea solution is not strong enough to 'paint' a colour onto something. And you would have to get it just as wet as you would submerging it. It also only works on natural fabrics, and a backpack is likely to be synthetic.

You soak in cold water with a splash of vinegar, there is no need to neutralize the acidity. Just dry, iron and wash as normal.

No, the washing mashing does not allow for a sufficient soak time so your cloth won’t dye at all. More than likely the tea packets will also break during the washing process.

Based on my experience, it will subdue the colors. Tea-dyeing makes things look vintage, so prints come out with colors becoming less intense. It will not be a dramatic change, but they will likely be somewhat changed.

Based on my experience with tea dyeing, if you set the color properly using the salt in the dye, the vinegar in the rinse and set with heat (I use the dryer), it should not rub off on anything. Just be sure that you don't wash it until it has been dried to set the color first.