Black tea even stains polyester as these dye samples show! I’ve used polyester lace and chiffon – both fabrics were white before dyeing. For the dye solution, I’ve made a strong brew of black tea; and let the fabrics soak for some hours.
Black Tea Dye On Polyester Lace and Fabric
I concur, tea will dye polyester. I was able to tea-dye a 100% polyester continuous lace curtaining fabric – the pattern I wanted was only available in white, and all my other curtains are ivory. I used black tea, with a very hot, strong solution boiled up in a huge pot on the stove.
I got the the fabric soaking wet in plain hot water first, squeezed it out and completely immersed the fabric in the (strained) tea solution. I worked it around a bit with a big cooking spoon to make sure the tea-dye solution got all through the fabric. (I couldn’t use my hands, I’d have burned them.)
After about 15-20 minutes I put the fabric through a plain wash and spin cycle in my machine, without any detergent. I didn’t bother with vinegar or salt either. After the spin cycle I then hung the curtains back up to dry and they are lovely soft, ivory-cream colour.
Thanks for stopping by, Megan! And thanks for your tips! 😀
did the tea stain remain or did it eventually wash out? I’m trying to end up with a permanent aged look in fabric I used for a table cloth. The fabric is a mix of cotton and polyester
This was just a dye sample so I didn’t use it on a fabric that is washed regularly. However, black tea dye is pretty permanent even without a mordant (it’s almost impossible to remove from fabrics). So I think it should work. And if your tablecloth should fade after a few washes you can re-dip it in black tea dye.
You could also try onion skins, coffee (both are more yellow-brown) or walnut leaves or hulls (dark brown) – all these natural dyes are pretty permanent dyes even without mordants. I haven’t tried it yet but I think they should also work on a polyester blend fabric. You could make a small dye sample of each dye and look what works best for your type of fabric. Hope this helps! 🙂
what is the vinegar/salt used for post tea staining?
Some use vinegar or salt as mordant or to fix natural dyes to fabric. However, black tea contains tannin which dyes a washfast color without a mordant.