Ever dye wool tartan

[Dollander]

How long do you think I should let it soak in the coffee/tea? A few hours? days? Weeks? Also would a diluted brown dye also work?

I was about to suggest that, using a diluted dye. I dyed a British army dress jacket black, and the instructions on Rit Studio website (from someone who dyed a suit purple for her son's Joker costume ) advised using two bottles of dye versus only one for cotton, rayon, linen, etc. So maybe if you tried using, say, a third of a bottle of brown dye? Better to have it come out too weak and have to do it again than too dark.

Oh, I almost forgot...the instructions are here: https://www.ritstudio.com/2015/10/26/joker-cosume/ Only I found that I didn't have to use the fabric refresher let alone putting it in the dryer (which I would certainly not advise with a belted plaid), as the only vinegar smell I noticed was when I re-pressed the bottom edges with a press cloth sprayed with vinegar water...and even that smell dissipated on its own in less than an hour.

[Derekc5555]

Thanks Dollander, I appreciate the info.

[Pleater]

A tea or coffee wash should only take a little while to be effective. An hour at most - but you would need a large container - a bath perhaps? I'd advise wetting the fabric first, then putting it into the colouring liquid, be it tea coffee or a real dye, to get even take up.

It was not uncommon for patchwork to be put into a dye in order to make the various different materials blend together. Tinting everything brown, pink or blue - whatever was to hand made the finished item look more coherent, rather than made of whatever was to hand.

Anne the Pleater

[Derekc5555]

A tea or coffee wash should only take a little while to be effective. An hour at most - but you would need a large container - a bath perhaps? I'd advise wetting the fabric first, then putting it into the colouring liquid, be it tea coffee or a real dye, to get even take up.

It was not uncommon for patchwork to be put into a dye in order to make the various different materials blend together. Tinting everything brown, pink or blue - whatever was to hand made the finished item look more coherent, rather than made of whatever was to hand.

Anne the Pleater

Thank you Anne. Do you recommend coffee staining or actual dye?