Welcome, y'all. The supplies are gathered, and I am ready to dye some fabric. How about you?
Grab an apron and let's get to work.
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| A pretty vintage apron waiting to be used. |
My Recipe:
Dark coffee
Tea bags
Vanilla extract
Ground cinnamon
Water
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| All of the ingredients are gathered for tea dyeing. |
Several things are going to be dyed in big red pot including white 14 count aida, white 100% cotton fabric and lookie there a sweet doll named Hester Sue .
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| Aida, cotton fabric and a doll will by coffee/ tea dyed. |
I bought Hester Sue the other day at the Goodwill for $.99. She is as cute as a button , but I do believe she needs a more prim look.
But 1st off the aida-
I added my ingredients to the big red pot. I do not have any set measurements. I just eyeball what I want to put in there.
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| Add the coffee grounds, cinnamon, vanilla and tea bags. |
Water was added and then the white aida which I had dampened. I bring it to a boil and then turn it down on low.
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| Add water and dampened aida to the pot and bring to a boil . |
This is a messy process. But that is half the fun for me! Hee! Hee! I am just like a kid- always messin and gommin'. 😁😀
I check the fabric ever so often . I usually let mine stew for several hours and then cut off the heat and let it sit overnight.
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| Lower heat and let fabric stew in pot . |
The next morning , I check my fabric. If it is not dark enough, I add more coffee and heat it up again. If I am satisfied, I usually take the fabric outside and drape it over the firepit to dry. Sometimes I bake it in the oven at 180-200 degrees for 20 minutes keeping a close eye on it. Once the fabric is dry, I give it a good shake to remove as much loose coffee grounds as possible. The fabric smells heavenly.
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| My aida is drying on the fire pit outside . It will dry quickly on a hot summer day. |
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| Hester Sue after taking a dip in the coffee/tea mixture. |
Happy Stitching and Quilting, ya'll
Melisa
"A creative mess is better than tidy idleness."
Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤
Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. I love and miss you so much.. Love you , Amo.
Hello on a Tuesday morning. Like every morning, a cup of coffee and the news from my favorite blogs. Wow, I should try, never thought of dying by myself. I am always happy when the kitchen is clean! I think you had a lot of fun doing this. Hester Sue looks great. I love these rag dolls. My daughter had one when she little.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day.
Hugs. Gabi
Lol , Gabi. I do have to admit that having a clean kitchen ranks high on my "happy list " too. Hee ! Hee! I am a bit of a messy dyer, but I keep a little towel nearby to wipe up any drips and drabs that may take place in the process. I ended up taking Hester Sue outside to dye her. She just took a quick bath and out she hopped a dripping but prim mess. I am so happy with how she turned out. I was thrilled when I found this little gal at the thrift store. Have a beautiful day, sweet friend. Hugs and blessings.
DeleteGood to see how you do it, Melisa. We only drink instant coffee so I dye my fabric with a “bath” of strong tea. I always forget to soak the fabric first, but I’ve had good results so far with my Aida and Osnaburg fabrics. I screw the fabric up a bit, so some bits are more in the tea than others which makes a more uneven result which I like.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Melisa, my friend. Hope you have a lovely stitchy day. Hugs, Barbara xxx @flashinscissors
Hi Barbara. That is a great tip on twisting the fabric up for an uneven result. I like that look too. I need to remember to do that more often. I have done that with some Rit dyed fabric and it looked fabulous. Thank you so much for the sweet visit. I hope you have a beautiful day. Big Hugs.
DeleteThank you for sharing your process. I'd love to try but I fear ruining it. My husband would say "if you think it's ruined just buy more fabric and try again". Lol
ReplyDeleteMiss Hester Sue is so prim and perfect. Darlene J
Lol I know your fear, Darlene. It took awhile before I jumped into dyeing, but I am glad I did. Usually the things I think I have ruined turn out the best if I just keeping throwing things at it and see what sticks. Hee! Hee! Aaah how sweet of your dear hubby; he sounds so supportive. I agree - another excuse to buy fabric. Hee! Hee! Hugs and Blessings , sweet friend.
DeleteLooks like you had such fun and the end results look wonderful! I've dyed fabric before but only used coffee OR tea. Using both would be double the fun. Why the cinnamon & vanilla? Aromatherapy? I'm sure your fabrics smelled great. Have yourself a great stitching day!
ReplyDeleteOh how fun, Susie. I used to only use tea then started combining the tea with coffee for a darker look. Sometimes I add black walnuts in hopes of getting my fabric darker. The vanilla and cinnamon sure add to the wonderful smell. I think my fabric has been coming out a little darker since I have added vanilla to the mix. I am going to have to experiment more with it. LOL. Have a blessed day. Hugs.
DeleteGood Morning! I've also tried dyeing my fabric and it worked really well. I used Folgers instant coffee packets and Lipton tea bags only because I had it on hand. ;-) Never tried it with cinnamon and vanilla - any reason why for the last 2?- I'll bet it smelled good tho! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteHi, Donna. I have never tried instant coffee before but I sure am going to give it a try after the recommendation. I have always added cinnamon because of the smell and the warm glow that I feel that it gives the fabric, but since I started adding vanilla here recently it seems I have been getting a darker dye which I enjoy. I am not sure if that is what the vanilla is doing, but I do believe I will stick with it. LOL. Hope you are doing well and are enjoying the warm August days. Hugs.
DeleteYour fabrics and Hester Sue turned out really lovely, Melisa. Nope, I haven't tried dyeing my own. Maybe some day!
ReplyDeleteOh thank you so much, Robin. I was so pleased how they turned out. The quilt fabric and Hester Sue really took on the dye. I was a little apprehensive on dyeing the doll but I am glad I did. Have a blessed day. Hugs.
DeleteI loved seeing your process, I have dyed muslin and batting before using tan rit dye.
ReplyDeleteOh how fun, Vicki, I have never tried dyeing batting. Tan and browns are some of my favorite colors of the RIT dye. Sometimes I dye my aida with a mix of brown and gray for an antique look too. Thank you for the sweet visit. Hugs.
DeleteVery impressive Melisa! I can imagine how good it smells. Do you use the cinnamon and vanilla just for the smells? My Mom used to say "messin and gommin" - lol!
ReplyDeleteOh the kitchen smells heavenly when I "mess and gomm" while dyeing fabric. It seems like since I have been adding vanilla that the fabric is a little darker which I love. The cinnamon gives a warm feeling to the fabric not to mention the lovely smell. Have a blessed and beautiful day. Hugs.
DeleteMorning Melisa, good to hear from you. I need to dye some more fabric. I use instant coffee and tea bags to do mine. I might just add some ground cinnamon to enjoy that smell. Hope you have a great day. ❤️🤗
ReplyDeleteHello, dear Patti. I hope you had a great week. I am going to have to try instant coffee myself. I bet your fabrics are just lovely. I wish you a wonderful day and I hope you get in some stitching time. Hugs.
DeleteI've never dyed my own fabric, but have considered it a time or two. I tend to make quilts that are meant to be used, so colors that run would probably not work in my projects. But I do love the vintage vibe of tea/coffee dyed.
ReplyDeleteI have only tea dyed a few wall hangings and have enjoyed the look, but .I have never tried to do that with a large quilt for the same reason as you. I figure the youngins' will "age" my large quilts. Hee! Hee! Thank you for the sweet visit, Kate. Happy quilting. Hugs.
DeleteThanks for sharing your process.. .I wouldn't have thought about adding vanilla and I was surprised to learn that the color of the coffee/tea dyed fabric could run if wet. Will it always do that?--TerryK@OnGoingProjects
ReplyDeleteHi , Terry. Well I have to admit that I learned that the color would run the hard way after stitching a snowman. Now my snowman is very faint. Since I posted , a lot of sweet stitchers said I need to add salt and vinegar to fixate the color so I will be doing that now. Thank you for the sweet visit. Hugs.
DeleteThe fabrics and the doll turned out very prim and pretty. I look forward to seeing what you stitch.
ReplyDeleteI was very pleased how all of the fabrics turned out. The cotton quilt fabric took on the dye very nicely . I just dipped the little doll quickly ; I was amazed how quickly it took on the dye. Thank you for the sweet visit, Jeanna. Hugs.
DeleteYour fabric and the doll look very good, what a change.
ReplyDeleteI use 'red bush' tea, it gives a warm glow and also salt to fixate the color.
Oh how interesting, Annelies. I will have to see if I can locate red bush tea and try some and thank you for the tip about using salt. I will be adding that to my recipe. Have a blessed day. Hugs.
DeleteI never have tried dying any of my Aida cloth, but was curious how you would do it. And now I know! Thanks for sharing, Melisa!
ReplyDeleteI used to never dye my aida but after I dyed my first piece I was hooked. LOL. I am a messy dyer but enjoy every minute of it. Thank you for dropping by, Diann. Hugs.
DeleteI dye my own fabric. Usually, I use RIT dye. I did use a coffee dye on the patriotic ornament I did a month or so ago. It turned out really well.
ReplyDeleteOh how fun, Meari. I enjoy using Rit Dye as well, especially browns and grays. I bet your patriotic ornament turned out precious. Isn't it fun to dye fabrics like we want? Have a blessed day and thank you for dropping by. Hugs.
DeleteI have dyed my cross stitch linen with a coffee/tea blend. Never tried vanilla, cinnamon or salt, but all three sounds like a good addition. I have been given some linen dyed with a color that I would never use, so I bleached it - very carefully. Have gotten amazing results. Also have used a Rit dye bath. I have found, through trial and error, that you can experiment with either coffee/tea or Rit and if you’re not happy, do a gentle bleach bath. Most times I have used rubber bands to make a more tie-dyed look. It’s been an illuminating experience. Thanks for sharing. Would love to know why you use cinnamon and especially vanilla. Love cinnamon, but vanilla, not so much.
ReplyDeleteOh Gail thank you so much for the tip on using bleach. I have never tried that but what a wonderful idea especially for fabrics that you are not pleased with their colors. Sometimes I pick up colored aida at the thrift shops that I may not know what to do with because of the color . I am going to try your technique. It seems like since I started adding the vanilla to my dye mix that the fabric has been taking on the dye a little better or at least is darker. I am not sure if that is just a fluke or the vanilla is doing its thing, but I tried it and have liked the results. I enjoy the smell of cinnamon . Thank you again , Gail for the sweet comment and visit. I hope you enjoy your day. Hugs.
DeleteLove the dying process!! I tried it once but it barely changed color!!! I guess I needed more coffee and less water!! I’ll try it again. Miss Sue is adorable!!!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit it is always a hit or miss with me. I like my fabric as dark as possible so sometimes I have to redye it which may or may not take. LOL. I was pleased how the doll came out. I just dipped her in and out of the tea bath. She really took on the color. Have a blessed day and thank you for the sweet visit. Hugs.
DeleteHester Sue looks great, and the fabrics do too. Like others here, I use coffee and tea, but not vanilla and cinnamon. I believe a vinegar bath will set the dye and therefore it won’t “run”. I took a class where we dyed our threads. She had use rinse, in cold water until the dye wasn’t on the paper towels we were using to blot the thread. Lastly, as I was reading comments, I thought of my ginger tumeric tea which leaves my cup tainted yellow. Hmmmmmm. Bobbi
ReplyDeleteOh thank you so much for the tip on using the vinegar, Bobbi. I will have to do that and use cold water as well. Oooh tumeric tea sounds interesting. I bet that would create a yummy yellow to play with. I do need to try that as well. Thank you for the sweet visit and enjoy your day. Hugs.
DeleteSeeing this done is so interesting and looks like fun. I've tea died fabric in the past but it's been years. I've never heard of using the vanilla or cinnamon. I've used salt and vinegar often to help set dyes, such as reds or blues and their tendency to bleed. Your results are wonderful and Hester Sue looks like she traveled the Oregon Trail by covered wagon. 🙂
ReplyDeleteHi, Ginny. I am pretty messy when I dye my fabric but have loads of fun. I need to remember to add salt and vinegar to help set the dyes that is a great tip. Isn't Hester Sue the cutest? LOL. I love little pioneer girls. Hope your week is off to a good start. Hugs.
DeleteOh how fun! I like to play with messes too!
ReplyDeleteLol it is always fun to make a mess or too. Hee! Hee! Thank you so much, Kathy for the sweet visit. Happy quilting and stitching. Hugs.
DeleteI use instant coffee, less messy. Love how yours turned out! What’s the sampler called by the doll?
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea. I will have to try instant coffee. Thank you so much for asking about the sampler that is a Blackbird Designs piece called Antique 1861 Sampler. It was a joy to work on . Have a blessed day. Hugs.
DeleteYour blog posts are always a source of enjoyment and inspiration. Thank you for so freely sharing your talent s with us.
ReplyDeleteAaah Jacqueline, thank you so much. I truly appreciate your kind words and sweet visit. I hope you have a lovely week. Hugs.
DeleteI have never heard of messin and gommin'! Haha! That sounds exactly like what you were doing, Melisa! What cute results!!!
ReplyDeleteLOL that is what my Nanny would say whenever we made messes. She was a hoot and always let us grandkids rule the roost. Hee! Hee! Thank you so much, Nancy for the sweet visit. Hugs
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