I was in one of my unpredictable, mildly rebellious moods and decided to tea-stain two white pillow covers we already owned (they’re originally from this cute Etsy shop). I figured it would be a free, easy way to soften two very stark-white covers into a warmer, creamier tone so they’d blend better with the rest of the pillows—lots of off-white, cream, and even some very light metallic bronze options—on Big Karl, our dark slipcovered sectional from Ikea.
I swap pillows all the time, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to make these covers more “compatible” with whatever group they end up with next. In person they stuck out as glaringly white, which made the other cushions look a little dingy by comparison—not a good look for a layered sofa.
My method was simple: I brewed a strong tea bath using three tea bags I had on hand—one French vanilla and two regular black tea bags—and poured boiling water over them. Then I dunked the covers in to mellow out the white.
A couple of small tips I used: first, I soaked the covers in cool water so the dye would absorb evenly. Then I stirred them in the hot tea “cauldron.” I didn’t want an overly antique or yellow look, so I kept them in the tea for only about five minutes.
After dyeing, I ran them through the washing machine on cold to set the color and remove any excess tea stain, then tumbled them on low until nearly dry. I left them a touch damp on purpose—letting covers finish drying on the pillow or while slightly damp helps reduce wrinkles compared to over-drying in the dryer.
They weren’t perfectly wrinkle-free straight out of the dryer, but I’m okay with a lived-in look. The final result: creamy, not-too-white pillow covers that still read as white but without the blinding brightness—think “natural teeth” rather than super-white celebrity teeth. The whole hands-on part of this DIY took maybe ten minutes; wash and dry time added about an hour.
Now the covers tuck in with the rest of the pillows much better. They’re still among the lightest tones, but they no longer make the other cushions look dirty. Hooray for tea as a budget-friendly fabric dye.
Speaking of pillows, those two green zebra-print covers in the photos are a recent crush—I’d been eyeing them since before we moved and even included them on a mood board for our future living room. They went on clearance, and with a coupon I picked them up for a great deal. Not that I needed more pillow covers… but look, I have a pillow problem.
The irony is we spend most of our time on our cozy rug with the baby, but at night we sink into Karl to watch whatever morbid show we’re into at the moment—Dexter, True Blood, The Walking Dead—where all those pillows are actually useful. They provide back support, keep laptops from burning our legs, get tossed at each other when someone dozes off, and get squeezed during suspenseful scenes. Pillows are surprisingly practical—and addicting.
Have you ever dyed fabric with tea? Any recent pillow shopping or West Elm finds? Or did you make fake tea-stained pirate maps with burned edges as a kid like I did? Share your DIY stains and small decorating indulgences—I’m always curious how others tweak textiles to get a cozier look.
Psst—I’m a bit of a dye nerd. I’ve tried dyeing a wedding dress and even some thrifted slipcovers; experimenting with color is one of my favorite little projects.
Pssst—also, we recently announced a giveaway winner. Check back on the blog if you want to see if it was you.