# Soaking Fabric in Tea?



## Drayvan (Sep 22, 2009)

I am going to try soaking a few white shirts and pants in tea this year. The material is hospital scrubs. My question is how long do you have to soak them for the items to keep the color and do you wash them once after soaking?


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## Yubney (Sep 14, 2009)

Depends if they are organic or synthetic. Longer is always better.


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## bones jones (Jul 22, 2009)

I would tell you it takes a ton of tea to make the fabric really keep the color and not wash out. I would actually boil the tea and put the fabric in the tea while still warm. And I would let it sit overnight. But I guess it depends on how dark of a color you are trying to get.


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## Spats (Sep 21, 2006)

Yeah, cotton and linen, wool and silk - they take stains easier than polyester or acrylic fabric.

Washing will remove some the staining, but if it's a heavy stain and you don't use soap, just a rinse, it should keep a nice patina.

Also, consider coffee if you need a darker, stronger option.


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## Atelier*Motives (Sep 28, 2009)

Try boiling 6 black tea or english tea in a huge pot; get it to a rolling boil. Take out the tea bags and put your fabric in while its still hot. Toss the fabric around everynow and again and let it soak. The longer it soak the darker it will be. The to help set it; rinse it out in a cold water and vinegar mix. The vinegar will help set the color in. I've heard that tea staining won't work as well on synthetic fabrics. ;3;


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## Haint (Oct 1, 2009)

If you have access to black walnuts the green hulls will give a good brown stain that will not come out even with bleach. They are falling this time of year and very plentiful here. However, if you use this method make sure you wash before wearing and don't pour the liquid left over in your yard. It will kill plants.


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## Grim Spirit (Nov 16, 2005)

I tea'd a Gi one time, and got excellent results just throwing 6 family size tea-bags (Lipton) into the washer with the Gi and filling it on the hottest setting. Let it sit overnight, then wash. If it's not dark enough, repeat.

Of course, I lived alone and didn't have to argue with anyone over the washer.


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## Drayvan (Sep 22, 2009)

Thank you all for the help.. I'll just soak them overnight and see what results I get.


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## zleviticus (Sep 11, 2009)

Atelier*Motives said:


> Try boiling 6 black tea or english tea in a huge pot; get it to a rolling boil. Take out the tea bags and put your fabric in while its still hot. Toss the fabric around everynow and again and let it soak. The longer it soak the darker it will be. The to help set it; rinse it out in a cold water and vinegar mix. The vinegar will help set the color in. I've heard that tea staining won't work as well on synthetic fabrics. ;3;


THIS!!!! 

I generally use a turkey fryer with tea (you can get a set of 100 bags from the dollar tree with no tags on them) heat till boiling then emmerse the fabric stirring once in a while. When you get the color you want take it out and immediately cold set the fabric using cold water or cold water/vinegar mixture. Then i do a rinse cycle in the washer and then dry on medium/high heat. Make sure that if you are doing this with new fabric you do not make the items before you tea dye/dry the cotton i did a coupole week ago shrinked A LOT. 

Sorry to be wordy but i just did this a couple weeks ago with great results. Also i have used a cheap airbrush and tan rit dye to spray the fabric to "dirty it up." Works really well... Hmm i see a tutorial in my future.


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## blackacidevil91 (Sep 14, 2009)

Forgive my noobness, but whats the purpose of this?


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## Frankie's Girl (Aug 27, 2007)

blackacidevil91 said:


> Forgive my noobness, but whats the purpose of this?


It gives an aged yellow effect to fabric. You'll end up with a mottled yellow/brown fabric that looks authentically OLD.


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## Silentbob2 (Sep 2, 2008)

Here in my area it is walnut season. Has anyone tried using walnut hulls for this. It is very strong and stains close and skin. My son hulls them and we have to throw his close away when the season is done. Just a thought incase someone might want to try it....


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## zleviticus (Sep 11, 2009)

Silentbob2 said:


> Here in my area it is walnut season. Has anyone tried using walnut hulls for this. It is very strong and stains close and skin. My son hulls them and we have to throw his close away when the season is done. Just a thought incase someone might want to try it....


Actually walnut husks are a natural dye and was used to dye fabrics in the past. However it would be a little more messy than tea. Youw oudl ahve to boil the husks for a good while, drain them ou then use the dyed water to dye the fabric. However it works really well or so i m told.

How to Make a Fabric Dye Out of Walnut Hulls | eHow.com


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