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Hands on - Tea dye
Use this dye to colour fabrics, or to dye white lace dark ivory to give it an antique look. Great for costumes!
What you'll need
10 tea bags
2 pints water
Large stainless steel (not aluminium) saucepan
Wooden spoon or plastic stirring utensil
Sieve
Container to collect dye
2 pints water
Large stainless steel (not aluminium) saucepan
Wooden spoon or plastic stirring utensil
Sieve
Container to collect dye
How to make it
Put the tea bags in the saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to squash the tea-stained liquid from the bags.Strain the mixture and retain the brown liquid. Discard the tea bags.
How to use it
To use your dye to colour fabric, first wet your fabric in ordinary tap water and wring out. Then submerge your damp fabric in the hot dye. Stir around and leave it until you have the depth of colour you want. To make the colour darker, soak the fabric in the liquid for a while, take it out and dry it, then soak it in the fabric again. Repeat this process, building up the layers of colour, until you are happy with it.
The cooled dyeing liquid can also be used to 'age' paper. It's brilliant for making old letters or treasure maps look genuine. Use a sponge or paintbrush to cover both sides of your paper. You can also quickly dip your whole sheet into the pan of cooled dye too, just make sure you don't leave in too long or else your paper will turn to mush.
The cooled dyeing liquid can also be used to 'age' paper. It's brilliant for making old letters or treasure maps look genuine. Use a sponge or paintbrush to cover both sides of your paper. You can also quickly dip your whole sheet into the pan of cooled dye too, just make sure you don't leave in too long or else your paper will turn to mush.
Activities
