Good to the last drop.....

[Guest SamplerLady]

I was playing with wool and kool aid yesterday and had some hot coffee left over from the morning. So I put it in a bowl, added some vinegar for good measure, added about a yard of roving. Smooched it all down to saturate, popped it in the microwave for about 3 minutes and oh, it's gorgeous! Soft caramel color, or maybe coffee with a bit too much milk in it.

 

Try it!

 

"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong."

Joseph Chilton Pierce

[MarvieN]

ooooooooooohhh that sounds yummy!

[yarnicopia]

Ya know it's funny that you should mention this because the other day I was thinking of doing the same thing but with tea instead of coffee. I have a ton of fishermans wool and I could tea stain a varigated hank or two I am sure. Maybe let some of the yarn soak in it a little longer than other parts. My first thought was that this would look really old and vintagy.

 

I'll try it if you do...lol

 

Ro-

[Guest SamplerLady]

I've done tea dyeing of wool. Depending on the mordant (vinegar, citric acid) you use (as with all dyeing) and the kind of tea you use, you'll get subtle color differences. Real (vs herbal) tea has acid in it, too, which helps with the process.

 

If I have time today, I 'll do some green tea and some black tea and see what comes up. Hmmm I have red onions, too...... Mwahahahahahahahaha!

 

"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong."

Joseph Chilton Pierce

[yarnicopia]

Ouhhh goodie let me know how it goes...take pictures! I never thought of the different blends of teas that may produce suble different colors....thanks for the good info.

 

Ro-

[Guest SamplerLady]

Okay...I played with caffeine products yesterday. Here's what I got.

 

The first one (from left to right) is black tea, the second, green tea, and the third, coffee. The green tea looks a lot paler in the pic. It's a light tan with a hint of green to it...would probably work up nice if plyed against a hunter green. The black tea and coffee are similar but the tea's a bit darker. I used citric acid as a mordant. The coffee looks similar to what I did the other day, so I don't think using vinegar would change the colors much.

 

I used LOTS of tea bags in less than a gallon of water for this experiment. YMMV. What is striking, however, and I'd urge y'all to try it is the richness of the colors. And the coffee one smells divine.

 

"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong."

Joseph Chilton Pierce