Hey all! I had a problem; probably you have had it too, where I wanted to make something specific and did not have the appropriate materials on hand. In this case, I wanted to make a fall themed garland or necklace. However, I did not have gold or a good orange on hand so what to do?
I had this bright yellow cotton (forgot to take a picture of the yarn so here is where I used it in something else)
and this beautiful tangerine orange cotton. What if I darkened them a bit? So I decided to give them both a tea bath!
(pic) I first soaked the cotton in water, squeezing them a bit, then put the yarn in warm water with a family sized tea bag. I placed the container in the microwave for two minutes, stirred it around and pressed on the yarn and then microwaved it for another minute.
(pic) I didn’t want the tea to dye the yarn too much – I just wanted to dull out the colors a bit - so I only soaked them in the tea bath for about 30 minutes. I removed the yarn and rinsed it out until the water ran clear. Turned out great!!
I did try this as well with some white acrylic but after sitting in tea for 12 hours and no change, I added in some coffee, still no change. So guess it only works on natural fibers.
Here are the instructions for the necklace I made if you want one of your own:
_ Maple Leaf Pattern
Ch2, 5sc in 2nd ch from hook, ch1 and turn (5 sc).
1sc in next 2 ch, 3sc in next, 1sc in next 2 ch, c1 and turn (7 sc).
Dc in 1st ch, ch 2 and ss in top of dc, hdc next ch, (hdc, ch 2 and ss in top of hdc) next ch, (dc, ch 2, ss in top of dc) twice in next ch, (hdc ch 2 and ss) in next ch, dc in last ch, finish off.
_ Oak Leaf
Chain 6, hdc in 2nd chain from hook and each ch until the end. Ch4 and hdc in 2nd ch and next 2 ch. Ch 2, hdc in 2nd ch (this is the top) ch 4 and hdc in 2nd ch and next 2 ch. Ch5 and hdc in 2nd ch and back to center. Join with initial starting chain and finish off. If you want a stem, add a few chains here.
_ Pine cone:
Ch10, 3sc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch back to the end. Done! Really that simple. I also cut 4 pieces of green yarn about 4-5 inches long and added 2 strands to each side of the cone as the pine needles.
So next time your yarn isn’t quite the right color, give dying it a try. It was fun and I want to dye some more!! Thanks for reading!
P.S. My research sites:
http://community.knitpicks.com/notes/Dyeing_-_Tea_Dyeing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIv3R8Vt-Ek