Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Friday, October 28, 2011
This is an update to the previous entry on dyeing fabric with tea and coffee. I brewed up a batch of triple-strength tea and tried soaking for 15 and 30 minutes. Here are the results:
They're darker than the previous batch. The muslin finally took on a little more color. The dark streaks were still in the linen/rayon blend, which I fully expected. However, I already had the squares cut out and in the interests of a proper experiment, I carried forth.
So you may well ask, why am I doing these experiments when I've already dyed some items in tea and coffee? That's a good question. The answer is that I've been doing it by the seat of my pants, and wanted to establish some baselines for my next attempt at dyeing clothing.
There is one note I should have mentioned on the previous entry, and I will go back and update because this is important: I washed all of the fabric before I started. Fabric (even new garments you buy off the rack) has sizing to keep it looking less wrinkled on the bolt and the hangar. Also, the warehouses that store fabric often use pesticides to keep bugs and rats from building their homes in the stock. Any substance on the fabric can interfere with the way the dye reacts. And really, you don't know what's there. Best to wash it.