How to dye your clothing with tea!

Bring your beloved stained clothes back to life using this awesome natural hack.

You know that white t-shirt that you stained with spaghetti sauce but don’t want to get rid of because it’s your favourite shirt?

Well in this article, I’ll be sharing a natural dye technique that I personally use to repurpose stained clothing using only a few ingredients!

What you need

For two pieces of clothing (i.e. a pair of pants and a t-shirt):

• 25 - 50 organic black tea bags or 100+ grams loose black tea (more tea bags makes darker fabric) - use about 1 tea bag for each cup of water.

• 1 yard or less white cotton fabric or white piece of clothing that you would like to give a second life. Choose natural fibers such as cotton, linen, muslin, silk and wool and keep in mind that hot water dyes can shrink fabric.

• 1 Large pot

• Large spoon or tongs ( natural wood or stainless steel)

• Water

Instructions

1. Get the largest pot that will hold the fabric/clothes you are dying. Stainless steal is best.

2. Prep Tea Bags: group the strings, tie them with a rubber band, and clip or tape them to the corner of the pot (to avoid they fall into the bottom of pot).

3. In pot, fill with water leaving 2 inches from the top. Clip the tea bag and bring to a boil. Boil for 30 minutes, and set aside.

4. Next, Prep the Fabric: for a solid colour finish, leave fabric as is. For more creative options such as a tie-dye look, tie rubber bands or cotton string tightly around different areas of the clothing.

5. OPTIONAL mordant (bind) color to fabric: This will give you a deeper color but it also works with out this step, resulting in a lighter color. In another pot, fill halfway with water + add vinegar (1 part vinegar: 4 parts water). Wet fabric thoroughly and let sit for 20 minutes.* *the vinegar helps to open the fibers. Remove fabric from pot and wring out any excess vinegar.

6. Add fabric carefully to the boiled tea bath. Make sure that your fabric is not overcrowded, otherwise you will likely end up with splotchy and uneven colouring.

7. Bring your tea bath to a simmer with the fabric for 15 minutes.

8. Stir for 5 minutes making sure the fabric is evenly dyed.

9. If your fabric is not bundled, check the colour and see if you like it. *the color will fade a bit when the fabric dries.
   If your fabric is bundled, don’t open it yet.

10. Turn the stove off and let the fabric sit in the bath overnight.

11. In the morning, take the fabric out of the tea bath. If bundled, take off the rubber bands and open the fabric (this is my favorite part, always a nice surprise!).

12. Unfold the fabric and rinse in clean water until it runs clear.

13. To remove all excess tea, wash with water and dry indoors or out of direct sunlight. This is important as the sun will mess with the finished colour.

    
    Yay! Time to enjoy your creation!