Dying with coffee and tea

I love dying things with coffee and tea. It instantly makes things look older. It's so easy to do and costs so little! I've dyed curtains, doilies, burlap, ribbon, muslin, and probably a lot more stuff. I really like how these curtains turned out. I bought this valence at a yard sale for .10 cents. Ten cents! They were a little too white looking for me, so I dyed them with coffee.

Here's one of my doilies. I love doilies. I have some that are very old and were made by my great grandmother. I don't dye those. The ones on my couch and chair were given to us as a wedding gift by a sweet lady.

I like the look of coffee better. It's a little darker. We don't even drink coffee, but sometimes I can find a good deal on the single packets of coffee that work well for this. Natural fabrics work better with dying. Man-made fabrics do not do well. I usually wet the item first in water, then submerge it in the coffee or tea. Wet fabric absorbs better than dry. I use a fork or tongs to turn it in the pot, to make sure the color is even. When you have the look you want, ring it out and let it dry. The color will fade a couple of shades as it dries. And it will also fade as it gets washed. I read here that you can set the dye by adding vinegar to the solution. I haven't tried that before, but let me know if you have.

That's my tip, and it works for me! You can read more tips at We Are That Family.