I was in a slightly rebellious mood and decided to tea-stain two pillow covers I already owned (they originally came from an Etsy shop). I figured it was a free, low-risk project and an easy way to soften two stark-white covers into a warmer, creamier tone so they’d blend better with the other off-white, cream, and pale metallic-bronze pillows on our dark slipcovered sectional.
I swap pillows around a lot, so I wanted these covers to be more compatible with different groupings. The bright white ones were sticking out and making the other pillows look dingy by comparison.
I made a tea bath using three tea bags I had on hand (one French vanilla and two black tea) and boiling water. Before dyeing, I soaked the pillow covers in cool water to help the color take evenly, then stirred them into the hot tea. I didn’t want a strongly antiqued look, so I kept them in the tea for only about five minutes.
After the brief soak I ran them through the washing machine on cold to set the color and remove any excess tea, then tumbled them on low heat until nearly dry. I left them slightly damp at the end because letting covers finish drying on the cushion (or staying a touch damp) can reduce wrinkles compared with leaving them to over-dry in the dryer.
They didn’t come out perfectly wrinkle-free, but the new creamy undertone is exactly what I wanted: still white, just not blindingly so. It took about ten minutes of active work and about an hour total including wash and dry time.
Now the pillow covers tuck in nicely with their cushion companions. They’re still among the lightest tones, but they no longer make the rest of the pillows look dull. Hooray for tea.
Also worth mentioning: I’ve had a crush on two green zebra-print covers for a while. I’d even included them on a mood board last fall. When they went on clearance I couldn’t resist—marked down and with an extra discount, they were a good deal. Not that I needed more covers, but I do have a pillow problem.
We actually spend a lot of time on the rug with the baby, but at night once she’s asleep we settle into the sectional and the pillows come in handy for support, propping laptops, or getting cozy during suspenseful shows. Pillows are surprisingly useful—possibly a problem when the urge to collect more strikes.
Have you ever dyed fabric with tea? Or picked up pillow covers on sale recently? I also remember making tea-stained, burned-edge pirate maps as a kid—those were fun craft days.
I’m a fan of dyeing projects. I’ve dyed a wedding dress and some inexpensive slipcovers in other DIY projects, which I’ve written about elsewhere.