Tea Dye a wool blanket.

[Hammock_man]

I have seen web pages which talk about dyeing a wool piece with tea but none which show an entire blanket being dyed.

Does anyone have any pointers, links, help or anything.
I really don't fancy taking a good blanket and messing it up. Think I am only going to get one shot at this!

 

[John Fenna]

I just make a brew of tea with the cheapest own brand box of 100 odd bags, boil the whatzit out of them in about 4 galls of water then put the brew into a big blue canoe barrel with enough extra hot water to fully immerse the wool stir it, soak it ,stir, soak repeat for as long as you can be patient for - I aim for a month or so. Remove the wool , drain, dry - bobs your uncle.

 

[Toddy]

+1 to what John said, I use a big black bin ….Coffee grounds are good too, but you've to watch them, they go mouldy. Acorns work too, oakgalls are superb and there are barks that really do help if you can get hold of them. Buckthorn bark for instance.

There's a thread or two here on the topic. Spandit did a good one. Need to find a link.

atb,
M

 

[bobnewboy]

Tea dye or Tie Dye

Walnut husks are about the most staining thing I have ever played with. Not that many around at this time o'year, but when you can get hold of them they are very good for dyeing almost anything very dark or black.

 

[Toddy]

That's a very good point, one we often miss since we don't generally mention them simply because they're not so easily available. They won't grow here, but if they do where you are then they're well worth the effort to gather them

M

 

[Hammock_man]

stir, soak repeat for as long as you can be patient

Seems like a plan. Really just wanted confirmation from some one who's done it.

Should be ready for the moot then

 

[Hammock_man]

found a bin to soak it in
https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/thur-9-apr/product-detail/ps/p/43-litre-garden-tub-1/

 

[Macaroon]

If you don't mind a bit of advice, H'man, you'd be better to use a much larger container than the one you link to; even a small blanket will weigh a lot more than you think when wet, and will be awkward to move about and
difficult to stir and agitate without losing dye all the time unless you've got a dustbin-sized container with a bit of weight to it......Just my experience of doing it

 

[Hammock_man]

Thanks for the advice.

This is becoming a bigger deal then I first thought. I have a old blanket that I thought would keep me warm by a fire. Just wanted to tone down the off white colour, fold in half, cut a head hole and have done.

 

[Toddy]

If you don't mind kind of mottled, then that big trug thing'll do. It won't be easy to move the wool around in it, but it's do-able, especially if you have patience.
If it sits still too long and not soaked right through, then you'll get uneven dyeing. That's why at least at the start when the tea dye is fresh and still warm that it's worth the effort to get it moved often.

Best advice, wash the blanket first and put it into the dyebath while it's still sodden wet. That'll help make the dye take up a bit more even and the wool won't be such an effort to soak through. It'll also loosen and get rid of any grubbiness on the blanket, and remove fabric conditioner that won't let the dye pick up too.

Mind and not thermal shock the wool; no cold into hot or hot into cold, and the wool can sit in the dye bath for weeks without any problems. If it does ferment (guess how I know ? ) it washes out easily enough…..and this is from the woman who left a dye bath for a Summer while she worked away from home and came home to have to pick bloodworms out of the wool beautiful rich dark red coloured wool from an exhausted madder dye bath though and the robin and the blackbird feasted happily.

M

 

[Hammock_man]

Mottled is fine, jobs back on then. Just had a thought, could get two and transfer the blanket from one to the other every 3 days or so?

 

[Toddy]

No reason why not, just that it's a skiddle and will inevitably be a mess and a half

Mac's right really; the blanket will take up an awful lot of room and bigger would be better. That said, necessity is the mother of invention, and knowing that the bath needs stirred often and doing it, will help even out the worst of the mottling.
I use a big black bin and even that's a bit tight for the job. It works though, but I do have to keep it moving.

Do you have a wheelie bin ? could you pack your rubbish into rubble bags and store it for a few days while the dye works ?
If the bin was put into the sunshine too with the lid on then it'd get and stay warm, and that helps things along remarkably.

M

 

[spandit]

I have seen web pages which talk about dyeing a wool piece with tea but none which show an entire blanket being dyed.

Ahem.... http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=88070

 

[Hammock_man]

Spandit, did not find that thread when I did my search, thanks.

Toddy, Yes I do have a wheelie bin. Not sure what state its in but seeing as I have put rubbish sacks in to it and not given a thought to its state, it can not be too bad!

Oh to have options
Just last night I was looking at my czech army bed roll and seeing how the blanket can be used as a cape. The blanket itself has non natural fibre so would be badly affected by a small spark. With the cotton sheet on the outside spark damage would be minimised ( i.e. sat round a communal fire of an evening ). Dyeing the cotton sheet from its present bright green to a more darker hue would be easier to pull off I think.

 

[Hammock_man]

Well I have started. Brewed up 160 tea bags and got about 12 litres of "black paint". Wilko had an 80 litre lidded box for 6 quid that can be used for other jobs. The blanket was machine washed first and added to the box while still damp. Have got room to move the blanket around to try and even the process but it is heavy going. Going to leave it for 3 weeks giving me time to dry it, cut and make a simple cloak in time for bushmoot.

 

[Hammock_man]

Blanket a nice cardboard brown now, tea many shades lighter!!
Do I need to "fix" the dye or is it just a real bad tea stain that you will never get out. Don't fancy sat round my first fire only to find in the morning I have a matching set of clothes.

 

[Twodogs]

Interesting looking forward to seeing how it turns out

 

[Macaroon]

No need to fix it - my teadyed stuff has lasted ages without problems.

 

[Hammock_man]

Thanks. Just wanted to be sure

 

[Docherty]

I just make a brew of tea with the cheapest own brand box of 100 odd bags, boil the whatzit out of them in about 4 galls of water then put the brew into a big blue canoe barrel with enough extra hot water to fully immerse the wool stir it, soak it ,stir, soak repeat for as long as you can be patient for - I aim for a month or so. Remove the wool , drain, dry - bobs your uncle.

Hi John, sorry to resurrect an old post but once you remove the blanket from the wool do you rinse in clean water it or just hang it out to dry?