Tea Staining Clothing

[runner]

Maurizio did it with tea, coffee, orzo in the last Linea collection.

 

[softgrey]

coffee??...that's a good idea...


what does orzo do??...make it starchy?.......

 

[susie_bubble]

Soft....you have given me so many ideas now..... thank you thank you thank you!

*runs off to buy some PG Tips*

 

[Elegance.Is.Refusal.]

coffee??...that's a good idea.......

i've heard coffee makes your clothes smell once you've stained them and that tea is better since you dont get the bad smell.

 

[Tiffany7]

Ive been thinking about doing this with some white tees & long tanks because I just really hate chemical dyes. I have a parrot & so I dont like anything chemical. So thanks so much for the directions.

 

[tott]

i've heard coffee makes your clothes smell once you've stained them and that tea is better since you dont get the bad smell.

I can't imagine the clothes would actually smell of coffee (or tea) because you do wash/rinse them... And once they're dry, there's not much left to give off any odour whatsoever.

 

[TopofNewYork]

No pictures? =|

 

[augustus]

I will try and take some pictures...yet the curtains are in our old house...

I can't speak for coffee, but for tea, it actually helps to get the smelly smell away...only a very fresh and clean smell...!

 

[gius]

Some photos...
I guess it all depends on the kind of tea and how long you immerse the fabric for. I don't know what kind of tea these people used in the photos--I just found the images on google.

from: http://www.victoriantrading.com

from: http://www.clothing-and-accessories.com/clothing/
Section: Cowboy clothing

from: http://www.theage.com.au

 

[Alliecat]

ooh. There are some great ideas floating about. I LOVE the silk curtains being dyed with tea - although I dont know if I would have the guts to dye a set of silk curtains for the lounge but I'm guessing there was experimentation before hand. I also really like the color of the cowboy hat above. And coffee.... i guess that would be more of a brown as opposed to the hues of beige with tea. Great thread!!

Oh yeah, I forgot to ask - what is Orzo?

 

[dare-]

So...after experimenting with a few white undershirts. Here's what I've found.

Tea staining will make all your white clothes a nice ecru (creamy tan), one of my favorite colors. ALSO, make sure all the clothes you want to stain are clean. The tea takes any sweat on your clothes and makes it a bright yellow. I had to throw away a few good undershirts.

 

[Alliecat]

Well I've just put a pair of white linen pants on to wash. Then they're into the pot with loose leaf green tea. Am interested to see what happens (if anything) with the loose leaf as opposed to tea bags.

 

[runner]

I think orzo is something like barley?
softgrey should know about it.
maybe you get some beige-ish color with it.



from item.rakuten.co.jp

 

[runner]

from 2.spitz.net




Linea
http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/401990-post59.html

 

[sea of stitches]

nice topic softgrey! and thanks for the extra pics and info runner! B)
i remember staining paper with tea in elementary school.
gius, the tannic acid in tea acts like a mordant, so the color stays put.

 

[Alliecat]

Thanks for that Runner. Well I started off dying my wht. linen pants with green tea, left it for several hours (with stirring) and nothing happened. So I added two black tea t-bags.

They have come out a lovely shade of light ecru. BUT I am going to give them one more go with the blk t-bags and get them a shade or two darker. Its great to be able to dye andnot have to take rubber gloves on and off. Lots of fun in my kitchen at the mo!

 

[Alliecat]

"gius, the tannic acid in tea acts like a mordant, so the color stays put." Interesting Sea of stitches, I was wondering again about this. Thx!

 

[sea of stitches]

you are welcome, alliecat.

oh yeah, and everyone should be aware that the tea breaks down the fibers (i think this is more a problem with cellulose fibers than protein ones), so don't dye any heirlooms!

 

[Alliecat]

Interesting - I've just hung my linen pants out to dry (2nd round of dying) and the color has def. taken better on some 'fibrous' threads. Was just wondering how that would affect the longevity of the pants.

 

[softgrey]

i love all the additional info that eveyone added...
and thanks for the pics runner...

here is my project...

remember- it was originally a table doily that was bright white (from my grandmother)
so i cut out some pieces and dipped it in a bucket o' tea...
and....

voila!!!...