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Don't
miss our Hot
Teas logo shop for the largest collection of tea
party invitations,
tea shirts for the whole family, eco-totes, mugs, and
many more gift items featuring our unique tea designs. |
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payment via PayPal with your credit card or bank
transfer. |
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About
Tea Dyed Tees
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Yes,
we do custom work
-- individual pieces, in bulk, or for resale. Contact
us to discuss personalized gifts, tea party favors,
tea shirts for your group, specialty items for your tea
room/tea shop, or your own custom project ideas.
Our
beautiful styles for women, men, and children are
perfect to wear to your next tea party! "So much
nicer in person than they photograph" - a happy
Tea Dyed Tees customer
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| Who
drinks tea? |
| True
tea is the most popular beverage in the world except for
water. Although tea is an integral component of various
rituals around the world, and contains important
health-enhancing micro-nutrients, it is more commonly
consumed for enjoyment. Men and women in approximately
equal numbers drink tea, and many parents serve tea to
their children as well, often in the form of cambric tea
(half tea, half milk). |
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| What
is tea? |
| All
true tea comes from one of two plants: Camellia
sinensis and its cousin in India Camellia assamicus.
The beverage, hot or cold, made by infusing the leaves
of these plants in water is the only beverage that can be
accurately termed "tea." Beverages made with
herbs, fruits, flowers, or anything else, are correctly
termed infusion or tisane. Virtually
all of the dye blends we use at Tea Dyed Tees are
comprised of true tea leaves. We occasionally
experiment with rooibos or other tisanes; this will be
noted in the item listing. |
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| When
were tea dyeing, and Tea Dyed Tees, invented? |
| Tea
dyeing very likely got its start shortly after tea was
discovered. Perhaps some infused tea liquid spilled onto
the drinker's shirt, and they were pleased by the colour
of the stain it produced.
Over
the years, most notably during Victorian times, fabrics of
all kinds were dyed with tea to produce a
"vintage" appearance. Because the tea colours
tend to be unstable, tea has often been blended with
commercial dye products to achieve specific colours and
effects.
Commercial
dyes are never used here at Tea Dyed Tees. All of the
pieces you see here have been dyed with tea -- and only
tea. We employ our
own proprietary dyeing processes to ensure maximum colour
depth and retention. Your Tea Dyed Tees item will remain colourful
through multiple washings if you launder by hand in cold
water with a mild soap. We recommend that you use our own
exclusive laundry soap liquid. Depending on the
specific dye technique used for the article you have
purchased, and its fabric content, you may see a slight colour loss during the
first washing only. This should not affect the appearance
of the item.
We here at Tea Dyed Tees have
been dyeing with tea since we were in high school,
creating handcrafted gifts for friends and "friends
of friends." In mid-2008 we decided to bring our
tea-dyed textiles to the public, and Tea Dyed Tees was
born.
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| Where
do your teas and textiles come from? |
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Tea
Dyed Tees is located in the United States of America.
All of our tea-dyeing and designing is done in the USA.
Tea
is grown in many countries around the world. There are tea
gardens in Asia, Africa, South America, and even Europe
and the USA. The teas we use for tea dyeing are sourced
from a variety of vendors. We blend them ourselves to
produce the exclusive results you see here on our
products.
Whenever
possible we choose textiles made in the USA for our tea
dyeing. Some are stock items; others are unique pieces
that we locate from various sources. At this time we are
in the process of making arrangements for a selection of items to be sewn
here in the USA specifically for Tea Dyed Tees, and hope
to offer them in our shop shortly.
We're
always on the lookout for individual garments and other textiles that
lend themselves to enhancement via tea dyeing. In
particular we find that embroidered textiles are even more
beautiful when tea dyed. Some of the textiles we tea dye were sewn outside the USA. Country of origin is noted in each individual item's
listing. We also find interesting vintage textiles in
antiques shops from time to time. These are
unique pieces whose origins are not always known to
us.
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| How
do you dye with tea? |
| Technically
speaking, tea is not a dye but a staining agent. This is
why you must wash your Tea Dyed Tees garment in cold water
with mild soap. Detergents, oxygen-based cleaners, stain
removers, and
bleach are all formulated to remove stains from
fabric.
Tea's
rich, warm colour imparts a "vintage" appearance
to textiles and papers by staining it when the item is
soaked in a tea solution. Our proprietary dyeing
method brings out more of tea's rich colour, and the
embellishments we add further enhance the basic design of
the tea-dyed garment or accessory.
Please
note that even following our washing instructions, the
first time you wash your Tea Dyed Tees garment or accessory
it is normal to see some slight bleeding and colour
loss. To prevent additional colour loss, we recommend
you launder with our exclusive mild laundry
soap. Alternatively, wash with 1/4 cup plain white
vinegar mixed into a sinkful of cold water.
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How do I know if a Tea Dyed Tees garment will fit me? |
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To
ensure that you choose a Tea Dyed Tees garment that will
fit, compare the size measurements provided in each item's
description with your own measurements or, better yet, with a
well-fitting garment that you already own. |
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| Why
are there different colours and patterns in tea-dyed
textiles? |
| Dyeing
-- or, more accurately, staining -- with tea is not an
exact science. Tea is a botanical product. Unlike
manufactured dyes, a tea's colouring qualities vary based
on the tea's source, processing, and form. Dyeing with
certain teas produces a rosier result, with others a more
golden or honey shade, and with still others you may get a
browner "cocoa with milk" colour. Variations may
occur from tea garden to tea garden, or from year to year
within the same garden.
We
don't add commercial dyes to "enhance" our tea
dyeing so there is some randomness in the
finished product. Additional
factors
that affect the final result are the fabric content and
absorption factors of the textile being dyed; the
piece's position in the dye pot; and the original
whiteness or coloration of the article. Even the weather
can affect the finished product: On a sunny, warm day everything dries
relatively quickly and more evenly, while a cooler or
overcast day often results in slower and less even
drying for a different finished appearance. We choose
different processing techniques and conditions depending
on the result we think will work best on a particular
piece.
Because
we don't add commercial colouring agents or dyes to our
teas,
it is normal (and desirable) to see stippling, marbling,
mottling, and variegated shading on our tea-dyed textiles.
You may even find a stray bit or two of tea leaf that has
embedded itself into the fabric. This "imperfect" colouration is the signature of
true tea dyeing.
While
no two Tea Dyed Tees items are exactly alike, we may
employ specific teas and/or processing techniques -- such
as tie-dyeing -- in order to produce an expected result.
But just as often we let nature take its course with a dye
batch or individual garment so the finished product is a
truly unique work of art, which may even surprise us (and
you)!
Please
note that all Tea Dyed Tees items are unique and are
therefore subject to prior sale. If you would like to
confirm availability before ordering, you are welcome to contact
us.
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