Tea Stain Dye Samples

Samples from Marjie McWilliams' online class at Quilt University.

The variety is amazing!
Rows 1+2, 3+4 are the same teas.
Rows 1+3 use an Alum Mordant.
Rows 2+4 use a Vinegar mordant.

Teas Used : Twinings Earl Gray, Bigelow English Breakfast, Folgers Instant Coffee, Celestial Seasonings Cranberry-Apple Zinger, Bigelow Fruit & Almond, Celestial Seasonings Wild Berry Zinger, Belfast Bay Rooibos Chai, Stash Peppermint.

One sample stayed in the tea cup for 15 minutes.
The 2nd sample stayed in the tea cup for 1 hour for a deeper, richer color.

Of note : The Alum Mordant turned fruity pink tea stains into a blue or sagey green color. It also turned peppermint into a nice yellow.

Last summer, I tried Tea Stain dying to get skin tones for fabric portraits. But most of the color washed out with the rinse water. Marjie's method seems to work much better! I think the secret is that we don't mordant or rinse until the stain has set (ie, dried and heat set).

Needle Lace Tree, Leaf & Moss

These are examples of Needle Lace.

I learned this technique from Susan Brittingham at Quilt University (online).

Use a heavy water-soluble stabilizer in a spring-tension embroidery hoop (These are thinner than the old wooden ones, and will fit under the foot of your machine.) along with some tulle or netting. Then you sew-sew-sew ... After the stabilizer is washed away, the netting gives the piece some body and structure which may be needed for larger pieces like the leaf and the tree canopy. The moss seems to get thick enough that it manages to support itself after the stabilizer washes away.

When your free-standing embroidery is complete, it can be appliqued to a quilt or wall-hanging.


The background fabric is a hand-dyed scrunch & dump that I did in one of Marjie McWilliams dying classes also at Quilt University.