Ok, so now it's sunshine yellow. Help!

Whoa, Nel. Sit. Stay. There was a time when Martha Pullen ( of Sew Beautiful) and I dipped and dyed cotton lace to make it an antique sort of shade. Worked great, beautiful with robin's egg blue Swiss batiste. Then someone - don't know if it was an archeologist or chemist - insisted that we were asking for trouble because of the eventual but certain dire effects of the tea and coffee. So. For sure there are some rctq-ers here who will be dyeing to help you. Until then, just hang on, will you? Polly

"Sartorresartus" The short story runs:

Oh dear! Now I feel guilty about my advice.

No, neither tea nor coffee are going to last through a decent wash. I know it sounds slightly mad, but try a dye removing treatment. That should tone it down well. DO NOT use bleach: that will rot the fabric.

Or add a coffee coloured dye. Just one pack, mind...

I could tell you exactly how I would go about it, and it would be totally useless to you if you don't have access to the same chemicals.

What dye did you use? I usually use procion for cotton, but since you are in the UK I suspect youy may have used dylon. Dylon is great stuff, I use it myself when I have mixed fibers that I want all the same color, but it has a completely different color palette. I have mostly used the darker colors, and have no experience at all with the one and only yellow I have seen in dylon.

If you want to try discharging, which is probably your best bet short of starting from scratch, try it on some test pieces of the same fabric that you have dyed the same color. You will also want to read the information on this page first:

If you scroll down past the product there is a fair bit of information on the process.

And yeah, simmering it in coffee or tea is not a great notion if you need it to last. If it is a one off exhibition you are fine, though I suspect that you may just be making that overly bright yellow look like it is in need of laundering.

NightMist and the advisabilty of test batches is thus admirably demonstrated... I learned the hard way myself.

You folks would know better than I about this suggestion... IME, chocolate stains *really* well; is it suitable as a dye?

I was thinking about iodine, but that might evaporate out over time...

Doc

Thanks.

No, Kate, don't take on any guilt. I expected (through the only experience I've ever had with dyeing) that the colour would come out a little lighter than the packet. The blue did. The yellow didn't. Blessed be the yellow!

OK, so the tea and coffee came out the right colour overnight, but obviously the caveat remains.

So, I find a pale coffee-colured dye and use that. I think I shall get some of the bucket-mix rather than the washing machine stuff as I can monitor it and hoik it out when it gets the right intensity. In fact I probably could have done that yesterday, but I didn't weigh the fabric before I went out and the dye lives 20m away, so I didn't want too little and two buckets were more expensive than one washing- machine. Now I think I might be lucky to source some locally. (Finger's crossed)

The bucket stuff comes in more colours, too.

The blue is very pretty. It was a white on white fabric, so it has come out as blue with paler blue sprigs all over. The yellow has dried to a Buddhist saffron. It needs to come back to an old gold.

When I get sorted, I'll post some pictures. The project is really great fun. The quilting is really big and bold. The original quilt is stuffed with wool, and is cotton sateen, but this is not meant to be a copy as such, just a nod in the right direction.

Thanks, Nel (Gadget Queen & Useless at dyeing)

Remember that anything you hoik out of the bucket will be less intense than it is 'raw', once you have rinsed it.

Good luck!

I like safron yellow, but it is probably less than appropriate for this project. Mind you, given the mad print on the back of one of those quilts, I dare say Auntie Queenie would have a giggle at it. Yellow with pink flowers, isn't it?

I have white t-shirts with coffee stains that have never washed out. They may have faded some with multiple washings, but never completely gone.

Julia > Thanks.

My DW doesn't own a t-shirt that *doesn't* have some kind of food stains on the front. She claims it's because she doesn't have a beard to catch the.. er.. fallout. I have a different theory...

Doc

No idea, except let them work on the blue side! You are too good! Roberta in D

I am sooooo glad this topic has been addressed! Can't tell you how many times i've tried to "tea" dye something and gotten disappointed in the results.

So, I learned:

1) bucket dye packets are better 2) don't dye anything until absolutely sure that's the color wanted 3) check with this group for pointers before proceding.

Got it.

I've wanted to take a class on fabric dyeing, but my LQS doesn't give one. I do have a local quilty friend who has done this with great results, i'll have to contact her....

Thanks gals!! amy in CNY

Check with continuing ed. programs in your area. Not just your own districts, but surrounding districts as far as you'd be able/willing to drive.

Doc

I'm with Polly, somthing about tanic acid in tea that does damage in the long term. I have used "tan or brown" dye to overdye the "accidental sunshine" colors.

Hey Doc,

Some of us ladies have a "shelf" that catches drips, and some of the drips are males of the species. My lady friends and I have discovered that a piece of fleece, 10"X10" give or take an inch, is a great coffee/tea/soup/salad catcher. It's easy to carry, looks pretty, stays in place, and saves the wardrobe. I never leave home without it. DMIL is in an assisted living venue and has requested several drip catchers in various colors, she uses them and passes them out to friends. They use oversize bibs on the bed fast folks and had started using them in the dining room, that wasn't going over well with most of the clients.

Bonnie, in Middletown, VA