My first atempts at Dyeing Fabric -- what fun!

This is my second attempt at dyeing fabric. When I tried this the first time, I used small pieces because I wasn't really sure what I would get. This time I used both evenweave which is cotton, and linen fabric in 25 ct to experiment with. These are the results -- The evenweaves are dyed with tea, and the linen piece is dyed with coffee. I had never used coffee to dye with before, so that was a totally new experience for me. I'll be doing a lot more of this in the future -- it was fun watching the fabric take the dye and trying to stop when I thought I had the right look .
This process of dyeing my own fabric will also save me a bit as I won't have to buy the more expensive hand dyed fabrics and that too is a good reason for giving this a try. Here are my
pics of the end results.
The picture to the Left is Linen dyed with coffee.
Below is evenweave in cream that was dyed with tea.

Here to the Left is a piece of evenweave in cream dyed with tea. I used teabags to get the splotchy color. WHat I did was place the teabags in different folds of the fabric, then microwaved it for a minute and let it cool by itself. Then removed the tea bags and repositioned them, and repeated the same time in the microwave. There was also some tea in the bottom of the container so that the fabrick also got a little more color from the tea that was at the bottom of the bowl.

I"ve already picked the project I will stitch on the Linen that I dyed with coffee. I have chosen from the Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly -- latest issue -- the sampler titled 1816 Edcina Pieters Black Sampler. I think it will be a lovely compliment to this piece of fabric with the black silk stitches.

I'm looking forward to a lot more of my own hand dyed fabric. This turned out to be a great experiment!

Cathy