natural dyeing with tea is a much loved sula technique, the process gives cloth an aged aesthetic and softens colours which appear too harsh. we aim to use natural dyes wherever possible however it also matters to us not to compromise on quality and longevity, tea dye is one of the best options we have found to date. tea bonds really well with natural fibres so the colour really lasts in comparison to other natural dyes where the it can fade quickly or even rub off onto other clothes.
try tea dyeing at home
tea dying is a great option if a garment you love has had some light staining and is looking for rejuvenation. this is a technique we use to bring sula preloved pieces back to life.
we dye both garments and fabric ourselves in the studio, using fancy yellow tea bags (brew tea co) as our tried and tested preference. we make a huge cup of tea and add this alongside our pre washed fabric in the washing machine, we then set the washing machine to run a 20 minute cycle.
We use slightly different tea dyeing techniques depending on the effect we are after, sometimes looking for an even wash and sometimes we want the dye to fall deeper in different areas to achieve this we put the cloth in a strong dye bath and leave it to sit before washing it on a 20 minute cycle.
where you can find tea dyed cotton in SS24
The kadi cotton trims for Spring Summer 20204 are all tea dyed, details like pocket bags, linings are softened with the brown hue.
Our linen overalls are made from Japanese linen chambray in silvery paper bark and have tea dyed khadi cotton facings which are photographed above. our linen overalls have tie straps and two patch pockets on the front, two on the back and one classic bib pocket. our comfy overalls fasten at the side with hand made wooden buttons. after trying on many pairs of vintage overalls we took inspiration from the elements which worked such as the hammer holder which sits on the hip and adapted the parts which usually make vintage workwear more difficult for women’s bodies for example our overalls have a wide straight leg shape we also brought the waist height up and narrowed it in slightly.
the images below capture parts of the tea dying process. on the left tea is brewing ready to be used as dye, silk slip dresses before and after being dyed and finally on the right is a cup of tea we made along the way, why not.
