Give your fabrics or flags a vintage look using tea stain. Tea staining is easy, quick, affordable and a natural way to get the vintage, aged look. I’ll show you how to make tea stained flags to match my vintage patriotic decorations.
In this step-by-step guide, I’ll walk you through the process, share tips for the best results, and show you how I’m using my tea stained flags.
Why Tea Stained Flags?
Tea staining uses the natural tannins in tea to gently dye fabrics, creating a soft, sepia toned effect that mimics the look of aged textiles. It’s extremely budget friendly, eco-friendly and you can control the stain intensity by using more or less tea bags. This is a simple DIY and can be used with flags but also other fabrics and papers.
What You’ll Need
- Fabric: Natural fibers like cotton, linen, muslin and silk work best. Synthetics like polyester don’t absorb the stain as well. Start by pre-washing your fabric if possible. For the flags I couldn’t prewash, but I’ll show you how the flags absorbed the stain versus the polyester ribbon I tried to stain too.
- Tea: Black tea is ideal for the stain. Other types of teas may have a pink or yellow hue to them. You need 4-8 tea bags for smaller projects.
- Pot for Boiling Water and Dish for Soaking: Boil enough water so that you can submerge your flags or fabric and let them soak. I boiled 4 cups of water and poured them into a dish to soak.
- Tongs or Fork: Use to stir and submerge the fabric
- Foil or Baking Sheet: Lay the dyed fabric to air dry
Step-by-Step Tea Stained Flag Process:
1. Prepare Your Fabric: Wash and dry your fabric to remove any dirt, oils, or finishes. This ensures the tea stain absorbs evenly. (If you want a mottled or distressed look, crumple or twist the fabric before staining. For a uniform color, keep it smooth.)
2. Brew the Tea: Boil water in a pot (I used 4 cups). Add your tea bags and let them steep for 10–15 minutes to create a strong brew. The darker the tea, the deeper the stain. Remove the tea bags (or leave them in).
3. Soak the Fabric: Submerge your fabric in the tea bath. Stir gently to ensure even coverage. Soak for 5 minutes to an hour, depending on the desired intensity. Check the color every few minutes by lifting a corner of the fabric.
• Note: Tea staining will significantly fade if washed. Avoid direct sunlight, as it can fade the stain.
4. Dry the Fabric: Remove the fabric and gently squeeze out excess liquid (don’t wring too hard to avoid stretching). For a smooth finish, lay the fabric flat on a baking sheet, foil or hang it to air-dry. For a textured look, let it dry crumpled or twisted.
7. Iron and Use: Once dry, iron the fabric on a low setting to smooth it out and set the color further.
Watch the Tea Stained Flag Reel on Instagram