Experiment with Tea Dying Fabric

If you like working with reproduction fabrics or fabrics in muted tones instead of brighter ones, like I do, your quilts will have more of an antique look. Some quilters give their finished quilts a tea (or coffee) "bath" for that vintage or older, worn look. I'm always afraid to dye the entire quilt because I don't want to  ruin the contrast as ALL of the prints will become darker. That may not be quite what I want in the end. 

If you're hesitant to dye your quilts to get a certain primitive look, here's what I do:  Instead of dying the entire project, sometimes, before I cut fabrics for a quilt,  I'll experiment with a strip or large square of a fabric I like but that may be too bright and then soak those pieces that need to be toned down in a bowl of tea. Then I'll cut what I need for a block and use pieces in my quilt so they blend in with the other prints I'm using.    

                      

Some recent blues that have been tea soaked. Original ones on top were just a teeny bit too bright. Dyed versions are on on bottom. Just a slight difference. But enough to mute the brightness. It really is a small change but it makes a difference to me.

Here's a good example. That muted, tea-dyed blue just goes so well with the other prints now. I hesitated to use it before because I thought it was too bright and would stand out too much.

(Star on top right is the one with a dyed blue center.)

I really love fabrics in shades of aqua and teal. I also love "warm" blues, with a tinge of green or gray that makes them look vintage or old.  I used to be able to find these years ago. Have you noticed that good reproduction prints are getting harder and harder to find? Many of the fabrics nowadays seem to be a lot brighter as fabric companies move away from "Civil War" type prints to more modern fabrics.  I find that tea dying some brighter blues will often give me the color and tone  I prefer. I'm still hanging onto the style I have grown to love . . . . 

I don't use a lot of bright white in my quilts. Occasionally, I'll add some lighter prints to a block or quilt to contrast with creams and tans. Think I'll dye some of that button print above or the bright white one below though. 

The pinks on the left are ones I really like. Nice and slightly aged-looking prints. The ones on right are pretty too but SLIGHTLY bright for my taste. 

Before -  also pretty prints, just a little too bright for my taste

Here's the Recipe: 

Boil water and pour into to a bowl that's large enough to soak your fabric pieces. You can also use an old pot if you don't mind if it gets stained. 

Add 3-4 BLACK tea bags to the hot water. (Green tea or herbal tea will not work here but I've heard you can use these for other projects, such as cross-stitch linen.) Let the tea steep for a few minutes and then soak your fabric pieces.  Depending upon what look you're after, remove the fabric after 10 minutes and see how they look. This will probably give you a faint, slightly darker look. If  you want the pieces darker, soak longer or next time add more tea bags.  I'm usually good with 15 minutes.

Different fabrics absorb the tea differently, especially if they're treated, so you may have to play around a little. I not only dye white or light prints but I also tea dye pinks and blues and anything that needs to be toned down a bit. 

* Make sure you rinse well with cold water after you take the pieces out of their tea bath. I lay them on an old towel to dry, then press.  

After - You can see a slight difference in the light prints after 15 minutes of soaking. I'll use that dotted one more often now. The blue didn't really change much. 

I re-soaked the blue for another 1/2 hour. Still not much change but now not quite as royal blue. Clearly, lighter fabrics take the tea stain much better. Experiment with small pieces of fabric and different times until you get the look you're after. All in all, I'm happy and I'll be a little more eager to use these in my quilts now. 

Of course, this is just me and I certainly don't do this all the time. I never aim for a uniform tan tone in the backgrounds of all my quilts. I do like to mix a few lighter prints here and there for contrast. But it's nice to know that if I run out of a print that happens to be the perfect color/tone  for a quilt I'm making, I can make do with another one that blends in by tea dying it. 

Fourth of July Mini Mystery Quilt

Summer's here! I love making little projects using my red, white and blue fabrics around this time of year. 

Gameboard quilt from my Prairie Children book.

Martha Washington Star quilt

I miss our yearly Patriotic Pincushion Parades. But, honestly, I now have so many bowl fillers and pincushions I don't know where to put them. 

I thought it was time for a Fourth of July Mini Mystery Quilt. Quilters -  grab some of your favorite red, white and blue scraps and join me in making a little patriotic quilt for the upcoming July 4th holiday. 

We'll be making a SMALL quilt (less than 12", depending upon your borders) in three parts. You'll find the first step of the pattern in my Facebook group files or on my website under the Fourth of July Mystery tab.  Step 2 will be posted on Friday June 24. Simple enough to get it done and ready for display by July 4.  Have fun! 

Some of you have asked me about my Patriotic Pincushions patterns from years past.  you'll find the pattern in my Etsy shop. Quick and easy. 

                                                    

Dear Jane Journey

                                        

I completed the last Dear Jane triangle this past week. All fifty-six triangles are now finished and I'm getting ready to sew them to the body of the quilt. (This might take awhile, LOL.  I mean, honestly, it took me 12 years to get this far . . . . )  I'm glad I have this blog because showing my progress and "talking" about it to others helps motivate me. 

                     

It's been a slow process for me throughout the years. But I've been fine with that. No pressure. I just kept plugging away. I finished putting all the blocks together with sashing this past winter. 

I love this quilt so much I framed a poster of it and hung it in my sewing room. I have to say -  it really has helped motivate me to keep going. (The Bennington Museum in Vermont sells the posters.)

For me, it was all about the journey and the learning. I learned so much making this quilt. Didn't know I could do reverse applique or paper piecing until I tried.  In 2010, I started one block, an easy one. Then another and another. With each one I completed it got a little more thrilling to see them pile up. I bought a special box to keep them in, near my desk. I printed out a list of all the numbered blocks and checked them off to keep track of my progress. The next few years were not exactly great for me and the quilt got set aside for awhile. When I did pick it up again, I challenged myself to make it to 20 blocks by a certain time. Then 35, 50. Checking them off the list one by one. I remember hitting 100 blocks. That was a milestone - almost halfway there. No turning back now. 

                                   

                  Sashing the blocks together took awhile. I picked it up, put it aside, picked it up and put it aside again for months. Then one day I picked it up and the third time it stuck.

My blocks are far from perfect. (I don't post pics of the bad ones, LOL.) Some blocks were easy, some more difficult. With some, I had to learn new skills. As I picked up some good piecing skills, the more challenging ones became easier for me. The early blocks leave something to be desired and eventually I redid a few here and there. I knew they would always bug me if I didn't. Lots more I would like to replace but, oh well . . . .

What a journey it's been. I can say now that I was never really sure if I would finish. I wanted to, but you know how that goes. I just persevered a little at a time because I loved that darn quilt so much. I kept the book and finished blocks out in my sewing room so I could be reminded of it all the time. When I had some time I made a block or two. Even when I took time away from it for months, I still managed to get back to it eventually. 

If you have a Dear Jane languishing around your sewing room, stuck in a closet or drawer, fear not - there's hope for you too. If you've thought of starting one but never did, there's more hope. Drag it out or buy the book and make a plan. Believe me, it will be worth every frustrating stitch. Everyone I know who's made one feels so proud of themselves and they deserve to feel that way. It's such an achievement. 

Make sure you take advantage of every website and tip available. Ask others how they did theirs. Maybe find a buddy to sew along with you. Look at Instagram or Pinterest for Dear Jane quilts to get motivated. One thing that helped me was purchasing the Dear Jane software by EQ, which was invaluable. With it I could print out the rotary-cutting instructions or paper piecing patterns for each block. If I had to rely on tracing the diagrams in the book I know I would have quit a long time ago.  It's still expensive though so the website That Quilt is one good resource for making the blocks. Lots of help there with each block if you find you're struggling. There's also an EPP version you can buy. Susan Gatewood has instructions for paper piecing the blocks and triangles. Once you get motivated, just take it block by block, one at a time, and they'll add up. Start with a few easy blocks and then throw in a challenging one. Doesn't have to be perfect. Jane's quilt sure is not and that's part of it's charm. 

New edition of the Dear Jane book. Same basic info as the original with yellow cover (out of print and very $$ now). Still does not give you the patterns, just line drawings for template and hand piecing.  The sample quilts are updated but all the rest of the original info is the same. On sale today!  

I feel like the hard part is done and now I get to play around with fabrics for setting the triangles together. Wish me luck! Thanks for listening! 

Quilt Shop Tour: Ye Olde Schoolhouse

The past couple of years have been crazy, right? I haven't really been out much or visited any quilt shops during the pandemic. But I spent the nicest day day at Ye Olde Schoolhouse quilt shop in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, last Saturday, meeting quilters and "showing and telling" some of my quilts. Jeanie Rudich, the shop owner, is running a monthly Little Quilts club this year and they were using some of my books to make their quilts. She kindly asked me to stop by and visit with the class. Such a nice group of quilters! If you live near there or are in northern Illinois like me, stop in and see all of the wonderful fabrics and kits she has available. So worth the drive, even if you live farther away.

Ye Olde Schoolhouse in Cedarburg, Wisconsin

My favorite Schoolhouse quilt! With stars! 

Some of you ask where I get my nice variety of fabrics - Bundles! If you're looking for assorted fabrics in smaller pieces to make your scrappy quilts, Jeanie's got 'em! Check out her online shop. For now, take a tour through my photos.

Bundles are especially terrific for making the small blocks in my Schoolgirl Sampler quilt if you have a desire to start working on that someday.

If you're just looking for fabrics in a certain color to spice up your stash, give the shop a call. They carry a wonderful variety of fabrics in all colors and I know they'd be happy to put together some different prints and send them off to you in the mail if you ask. Tell them I sent you and if you like my quilts, they'll know what to send, LOL.

Check out some of the kits Jeanie made up from some quilts in my books.

                                   

This summer, I'm hoping to take a few more quilt shop tours and if I do I'll take you with me though some photos. Summer motto: Support our reproduction fabric quilt shops! Without our support, there won't be many left . . . .