How To Tea Stain Fabric

Sometimes things go a little... unplanned.

I was about to start the pattern we are using for our Pretty Pioneer Apron (which you can find here) when I realized that I had not acquired enough trim. Great.

This is what I get for buying fabric before I found a pattern. 

However, thanks to my pack-rat tendencies, I had enough of a different lace trim in my sewing stash. Only problem was, it was a stark white and what I needed was a nice cream color.

A quick cry for help to my fellow Pretty Pioneers and Heather told me "you could tea stain it!". Of course! Why didn't I think of that before? This is why I love our group.

So here is how I went about tea staining the white lace to create a beautifully antique-looking trim. This will work for just about any cotton fabric, and maybe a few blends.

First, make your tea.

 I used 8 tea bags in about 2 quarts of water. Bring the water to a boil, then remove from heat and add the tea bags. Let steep for about 5 minutes, until you have a nice dark tea.

Pre-wet your fabric in a bowl of water. 

This step is important as it will help your fabric to evenly soak up the tea. Wring out the fabric and then slowly lower it into the tea, making sure to evenly distribute the fabric so it doesn't clump up. Push down with a spoon to fully submerge it.

Set a timer for 5 minutes.

After five minutes, check on your fabric. You can rinse a small corner of it in running water to check the strength of the stain. Mine wasn't quite right, so I left it for another 5 minutes, 10 minutes total. You can go longer if you'd like a deeper stain. Since I was going for cream, 10 minutes was perfect.

Remove from the tea and squeeze out the excess. 

Then pop it in the dryer to set the stain.

Once dry, rinse in running water to remove any excess tea, and then dry again.

You now have a beautifully tea stained piece of fabric, perfect for all of your pioneer sewing projects!

- Meg

Old Traditions New Beginnings

I've heard it said that my generation is where traditions go to die.

That's depressing but when I take a look around, it's equally accurate.
We're great at making friends online, pinning the wardrobe we'll never have, recipes we'll never make and DIY's we may or may not ever attempt.

If there was an award granted for the generation composed of the biggest consumers, there'd be no competition.
Yeah, let's get a standing ovation for the biggest consumers in history!

Wait.

If you're still long enough, you'll see this isn't really what any of us want.
There's a lot of passion to be more, and create. But we lack the wisdom.
The good ol' fashioned mentoring.  Somewhere along the family branches of this huge old tree we never learned to sew a button, grow our own strawberries and make it into a jam to share with our loved ones.
Granted, that's a general statement. There are a very select few who are well equipped with the traditional skills of self-sufficiency and sustainability.

We've grown up relying on "them" to provide for us. Everything.
The shiny white tiles, and glass-door coolers have replaced the face to face relationship, and the smell of fresh harvest.
We purchase the clearanced "Bed-in-a-bag" instead of wrapping up in a blanket made with time, and careful consideration.
Swipe a card at the window and get a sack of food instead of stepping into the yard and pulling a few more goodies from the earth in the late afternoon.

This is where the wheel stops spinning. 

The rat wheel, the Keeping-up-with-the-Joneses, the dizzying array of stores.

We put on the breaks.

We started off as friends and sisters.
The girl who makes the soap, the one who married the farmer, the neat freak, the crafty queen, the photographer. All with different talents, perspectives and backgrounds... (about us)

With a common desire

The desire to be self-sufficient. To be able to create with purpose, using our hands. To be intentional.
We want to know how to grow our own food, sew our own clothes, can, knit....and share shameless amounts of food and laughs while our kids run amok in the yard.

We're building something from the ground up. We're all going to learn by doing.
This is where we'll document our journey, and share our memories and knowledge with others who are seeking intentional living. We're going to come along side each other, ask a million questions, get our hands dirty, and DO. Though we may not be able to share tea around the kitchen table with you, we'll know you're out in the yard planting by the same seasons we are.

-Abbey

Come along with us on this journey by following us on Facebook or through email using the form on the right.