Family activities expert Dana Christine joins
TIPical Mary Ellen host Mary Ellen Pinkham to show how to make dyes from teas.
Steps:
- Use one cup of tea leaves to six cups water to make a solution for dyeing. Add a teaspoon of alum (any of various double sulfates of a trivalent metal such as aluminum, chromium, or iron and a univalent metal such as potassium or sodium, especially aluminum potassium sulfate, which is widely used in the industry as clarifiers, hardeners, and purifiers and medicinally as topical astringents and styptics) to prevent the dyed items from fading. If alum is not available, substitute vinegar.
- Wrap the leaves in a large piece of cheesecloth, leaving room for the leaves to expand, and tie the cloth with a piece of twine.
- Bring the water to a boil and add the leaves and alum. Cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let the solution brew for about 10 to 15 minutes, then remove the cheesecloth and strain. If any leaves have escaped, remove them from the dye so that they don't stick to fabrics.
- Wet the T-shirt (or other item to be dyed) before putting it in the solution. This will help the item soak up the dye. Let it soak for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
- After dyeing, transfer the shirt into a solution of one gallon of cold water and one cup of white vinegar. Let it soak for about 15 minutes, then remove and rinse in cold water until the water that is wrung from the shirt is clear and the smell is gone.
Tips and Facts
- Use hibiscus tea to add color to a table doily.
- Don't throw away tea after brewing a cup or pitcher of tea. Used leaves work just as well as fresh ones for dyeing fabrics.
- Dye white gloves with black tea to give them an antique coloring. Keep a close watch on the gloves so they do not get too dark.
- Make antique labels or craft tags by tearing white paper into small pieces and dyeing them in tea. Write on the labels with a calligraphy pen.
- Different varieties of teas create different colors. For example, chamomile tea gives fabrics a yellow color, green tea adds a light-green color, and hibiscus tea creates a light pink or lavender color.
- Darjeeling (a fine variety of black tea grown especially in the northern part of India), oolong (a dark Chinese tea that has been partially fermented before drying) or pekoe (a grade of black tea consisting of the leaves around the buds) teas vary from brown to beige, depending on how long an item soaks. Other varieties that are useful for dyeing include black currant, mint and strawberry.
)
