Dyeing Yarn with Tazo Passion Tea

Every since I went to my first Yarn Dyeing Party, I thought it would be neat to dye yarn with Tazo Passion Tea because of its beautiful color. What I ended up getting was totally unexpected!

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Materials:

• Bare Wool Fingering Weight Yarn
• Tazo Passion Tea Bags (8)
• White Vinegar
• Tongs
• Measuring Spoon
• Large Dye Pot
• Colander

Step 1:

Pre-soak your yarn in room temperature tap water for a minimum of 30 minutes. I used a casserole dish to do this so they yarn has space to spread out and really soak up the water.

Step 2:

Heat up 8 cups of water in your large dye pot on high heat until it boils. Add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to your water and stir.

Step 3:

Gather your 8 tea bags and tie them together to make it easier for removal. Steep tea in water and vinegar mixture for 5 minutes on medium-low heat. You should have a beautiful orange-red color. Remove tea bags after steeping is finished.

Step 4:

Dip dye your yarn by adding a little bit at a time until it’s fully submerged in your dye pot. Lower your heat to simmer and heat for 5 minutes.

Step 5:

After the 5 minutes, add 1 more tablespoon of vinegar to try to soak up as much of the color as possible and heat for 5 more minutes. Turn off your stove and allow the yarn to cool in your dye pot.

Step 6:

Drain your yarn in a colander in the sink. Rinse with cold tap water. Add a small amount of dish soap to your yarn to wash an excess color out of the yarn. Rinse it again.

Step 7:

Ring out as much water as you can from the yarn before drying. I like to use my Swift as a drying rack for my yarn. Leave your yarn to dry until it’s dry to the touch – probably about 24 hours.

Step 8:

After your yarn is completely dried, wrap it up into a hank or use your ball winder and swift to wind it into a ball.

Conclusion:

I was expecting this tea to give us a beautiful orange-red color, but because it doesn’t have the color dyes in it and it’s a fruit juice extract instead, the color doesn’t penetrate as much. The funny thing is, I think it’s a beautiful color the way it is. It’s a light neutral color that reminds me of rose gold and will go great with a more prominent and bright color in any knitting or crochet project! Or you can use this as a nice base and then experiment with an overdyeing technique (which is probably what I’ll end up doing).

Check out some of other hand dyed yarn in my Etsy shop available for purchase!