Miss Gator's Afternoon Adventure: Tea Dying Lace from White to Ivory | Gator Bride

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Miss Gator’s Afternoon Adventure: Tea Dying Lace from White to Ivory

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009 at 6:13pm

Okay… so I searched all over Gainesville for someone to professionally dye my beautiful white lace to ivory (so it would match my dress). Can you believe that there is no place in Gainesville where you can get this done? Unbelievable!

But, there’s a ray of hope. One seamstress I asked mentioned tea-dying my lace. I had heard of this before but was slighting skeptical as to whether I could successfully do this myself. Searching the internet, I only found a handful of ‘how-to’s’ and no one really went into detail. They just skimmed over what they did to show you their beautifully dyed ivory lace. But, I’m a girl who needs directions. I ain’t gonna mess up my nice lace…

For all the other Brides out there like me, who need some directions, here is, step-by-step, of how I got to the perfect shade of ivory for my beautiful Alencon lace for my veil:

You will need:

4 Lipton Tea bags
a wooden spoon
measuring cup
and (of course) your lace to-be-dyed (I got mine off eBay for roughly $2/yd; can’t beat that!)

I first boiled 10 cups of water
I then let 4 Lipton Tea bags sit in the boiling water for 1-2 minutes; taking the wooden spoon and taping them lightly to make sure they were totally submerged in the water
Take the tea bags out and let the mixture sit until it has completely cooled (2 hours); Very Important – you don’t want to burn your lace in the hot tea.
Once the tea cooled, I cut a small test strip from my white lace and placed it in the tea just long enough to get it totally submerged (by using the wooden spoon); I then took it out and rinsed it for a second under cool water
I laid the lace on a dish towel to dry and compare with my ‘control’ lace (the original white lace) As you can see it is a little too dark; so I added 6 cups of water to the mixture to dilute the tea (looking back I think I should have only used 2 Lipton Tea bags)

Repeating the process a second time with the diluted mixture seemed to work out much better and is the right shade of ivory I was looking for. I think I would change the original recipe to : 10 cups water, 2 Lipton Tea bags

The middle shade is the shade I decided to go with. Here is a picture of it in natural light, it looks barely off-white/ivory… perfect. ↓

Yes… I took this picture to show my engagement ring too. I can’t help it… I like to take pictures of it!

Okay, moving on…

I then preceded to submerge the rest of my lace in the tea mixture (do I make this look easy? I was freaked out the whole time!).

I then rinsed it and hung the lace to dry in our guest bathroom.↓

Oh! look at the detail! This is why I fell in love with this lace and had to have it (plus the price was amazing; can’t beat $16 on eBay for 8 yards! A budget bride’s dream!)

Next it is off to the designer where it will be sewn on to my veil. I will have a veil update in the next few weeks!

Tags: DIY, lace, veil, Wedding Fashion

Stacy Marie Says:
August 13th, 2009 at 10:38 am

That looks so good, you rock! I don’t know that I would be brave enough to do it, but it looks fabulous!
Katey Says:
August 13th, 2009 at 6:49 pm

I read your blog regularly but have never posted…I’m not even a bride and this idea seems extraordinarily scary! As a complete stranger I am incredibly proud of you for doing such an amazing job!
Miss Gator Says:
August 13th, 2009 at 7:04 pm

@Stacy Marie: You can be brave girl! Just have to have your test strips! Also… some of the images of the lace appear much more tea tinted then it is in person. The natural light helped to gauge the right shade to go with.

@Katey: Thank you! It was a bit scary.. If I messed it up I didn’t know where I would get more lace (the cheapest in town is at Joann’s for $10/yd and it is kind of sucky). But it is all in using test strips to gauge the color. It was either do this, or have white lace with an ivory dress. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. :-)
mrknight Says:
August 14th, 2009 at 1:42 am

Ladies, trust me… she had to build up the confidence for weeks. I can’t say that I was any help getting her over that anxiety hump though… I kept insisting that she find more resources or find better step-by-step instructions on how to do this whole “dying lace with tea” thing.

The fact is, there simply weren’t anymore out there. And that’s why we decided this would really be of great value to the Gator Bride readers.

I’m really proud of Miss Gator for just going for it. The lace turned out awesome. Better than I had ever imagined it would.
Hannah Says:
August 14th, 2009 at 9:11 am

As a child in gymnastics we had to do these to our training bras! Gymnastics rules state that you have to wear nude color under garments or nothing. Although many girls opted for nothing, a few of us got crafty and learned how to tea-dye! If us 12 year-olds could figure it out (with a little bit of mom’s supervision) anyone can :)
The Status of Miss Gator's Custom Veil | Gator Bride - A Florida Gator Themed Wedding Blog Says:
August 27th, 2009 at 1:00 pm

[...] of Jacquelyn Brooks Design. I was there to see my veil she has been making, and to drop of the alencon lace I had tea dyed a few weeks [...]
Ima GatorVetMom Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 3:16 am

Hello Miss Gator,

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I have quite a bit of white lace I was saving for a blessing gown for a future granddaughter. My daughter is having a daughter in December and wants ivory lace. Hence my search for ivory (ecru)lace. I remembered reading I could dye white lace with tea and was ecstatic to find your blog. I will save about $200.00 dying my white lace. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Wife and mother of two UF graduates, and two current UF students.
Ashley Says:
November 16th, 2009 at 10:01 am

Thank you so much for posting this. I, like you, have searched the internet for step by step directions and you are the only person I’ve found thus far to show it. Thank you again and I will be trying this today and I cannot wait to see how it turns out. I also got my lace on EBAY!!!
Kate Says:
January 19th, 2010 at 9:36 am

Wow, that worked brilliantly! Thank you! I was really nervous, I only used one tea bag (PG Tips, much stronger than Liptons) and a load of water, so it took an hour before my veil had the colour I wanted, but it’s perfect! Really subtle, but now it really complements my dress, whereas before it just made it look dirty.
Fab! Here’s to Ebay veils (99p!) and tea bags!
Nicki Says:
January 24th, 2010 at 7:34 pm

I’m dying some lace for my senior fashion show right now. Thank you for the tips!
Miss Gator Says:
February 20th, 2010 at 1:08 pm

@Nicki @Kate @Ashley @ImaGatorVetMom: I’m so happy I could help you all!
That 'Something Blue' | Gator Bride - A Florida Gator Themed Wedding Blog Says:
February 20th, 2010 at 1:19 pm

[...] Old: Still searching, though the vintage lace I bought on eBay to make my veil would suffice. But, still looking. Something New: My dress! (and [...]
Lynsey Says:
May 13th, 2010 at 3:37 am

Thank you so much, I’ve searched everywhere for ivory dye and it just doesn’t exist anymore, I’ve got some white lace gloves that need dyed ivory. Heres hoping all goes well!
I’ll keep you posted!
Thanks
Jaclyn Says:
June 14th, 2010 at 7:44 pm

I love your blog! I am also a Gator! My fiance is a Seminole (everyone has a bad quality)! Anyhow, I’ve enjoyed reading your blog and I love the fact that you are a DIYer! I also have to use tea to dye my veil! You have been so helpful during the entire wedding process! Everytime I Google something your blog always comes up! Best of luck!
mellow Says:
June 27th, 2010 at 1:54 am

You know, there’s almost no tutorials for tea-dying lace ivory, not brown or some other colour? D:
Anyways, this was extremely helpful, and I have some lovely ivory lace drying in the next room :]
Kristyn Gavrilis Says:
August 2nd, 2010 at 5:47 pm

Thanks so much–I need to darken vail just a shade or two to match my dress! This is a great tutorial-love the details and photos.
Malinda Says:
August 14th, 2010 at 1:30 pm

Thank you so much for this posting!!! I tea-dyed my veil to a light ivory/pearl to match my dress using your guidelines! Very nerve-wrcking but worked great!
JEANETTE Says:
September 23rd, 2010 at 2:15 pm

HI I WAS WONDERING IF THIS WORKS ON TULLE :O SCARED TO BUT I WILL .. YOU MAKE IT LOOK SO EASY AND I LOVE YOUR BOLG :) THANK YOU
JEANETTE Says:
September 23rd, 2010 at 5:06 pm

Hi Again….I just used your GREAT way of dying a veil….I used 7 tea bags and 10 cups of water….my veil was ivory and I needed dark ivory/beige I put the veil in the tea for 5 mins..I did not rinse it out …I thought shaking out the access would be better …..and it was!!! I now have the perfect color.my veil is 100% nylon I will now add my crystals :)
thank you!!!! thank you!!!!
Jeanette
Mrs Gator Says:
September 23rd, 2010 at 5:07 pm

@Jeanette: I’m so happy to worked well for you!!!
Christine Says:
October 27th, 2010 at 2:36 pm

I have my mother’s veil that I am wanting to tea-dye. Do you think the tulle will take the color just the same??
Melody Says:
December 7th, 2010 at 1:49 am

Ok so we are two weeks out, and my future husband’s linen shirt is here, but they didn’t have ivory. Against my dress is it looks awfully clean think I should go for it? Also has lots of embroidery thinking I will just bite the bullet here . Any suggestions?
Mrs Gator Says:
December 7th, 2010 at 11:38 am

@Melody: If you want to, you can try it! I know it will work great, just be very careful in not making it too dark. Also, keeping it white will most likely look fine too. Look online to see Groom’s in white shirts next to Bride’s with ivory dresses. See what you think!

@Christine: Try a small piece of tulle and see if it will. I think it should, in theory, but there is no way of really know till you try!
melissa Says:
December 29th, 2010 at 12:42 pm

Thank you so much for posting this on your wedding blog! I found the perfect veil but it is white and my dress is not! So I am looking forward to dying it to be the right color! thank you so much for your bravery!
Karen Wood Says:
January 13th, 2011 at 11:22 pm

Hi there – just wanted to say THANKS heaps for your instructions! I got some white lace with gold trim to make some lace covered votive candle holders and I really wanted it ivory so have just dyed my lace and it looks FANTASTIC! :)
sandy Says:
February 3rd, 2011 at 11:23 pm

OMG::::::Thank you Thank you Thank you… i just got my lace today to make my viel.. it was WAY whiter than my lace on my dress… Thank you for the wonderful advice.. I cant wait to try it.. keep your fingers crossed for me…LOL
Denise Says:
February 16th, 2011 at 3:03 pm

I have a white (suppose to be white)lace dress with a blue tint. I guess you would call it raw cotton? How do I make it white. I have tried white dye, does not work.
Jen Says:
February 21st, 2011 at 11:12 am

THANK YOU! I just bought the perfect mantilla veil offline, and in my excitement, didn’t realize it was white…my dress is ivory. I so appreciate your step-by-step directions because I will probably have to do this once my veil arrives!
Megan Says:
March 24th, 2011 at 5:41 pm

I am super scared t try this. I have some white gloves that I need just slightly ivory, but I am afriad that it will come out uneven as there is a lot of lace, ribbon and trim on them. I guess I could try with some other fabric and see how it goes…
Melissa Says:
June 10th, 2011 at 2:46 pm

I’m ever so grateful I found this post. I purchased white alencon lace trim for my wedding dress, and in the store the small swatch of lace from my dress didn’t look that bad. So I figured it would blend. Once I got home with $150 worth of lace, I realized it actually stood out noticeably. I couldn’t return the lace, and I was definitely nervous to dunk such nice lace into a tea bath. You are the only person on the internet (that I found) that actually dyed alencon lace in tea, and it turned out looking great. I was still nervous, but I went with your suggestion of 2 tea bags to 10 cups of water, and I kept my lace in there a little longer, swishing it around for 20 seconds or so. It came perfect! I read elsewhere that it’s a good idea to dunk the lace in water afterwards to rinse out the tea because something in the tea can break down the lace over time.
Gayle Says:
June 18th, 2011 at 5:23 pm

Help!! I have to tea dye my daughter wedding veil, fron white to diamond whie. Does anyone one know how many on how many tea bags to use. And how long to dip.
Lesley Says:
October 31st, 2011 at 8:05 am

I used good old Yorkshire tea to dye old cotton lace curtains from super white to ivory. I only used 1 teabag to the 10 cups of water & literally dipped them in & out.Even then it’s quite a ‘srong’ ivory, but I’m happy with the colour. Best of luck to you girls trying to do a ‘wedding match’: just ‘go for it’! Thanks for the ‘inspiration’.
Maayan Says:
January 4th, 2012 at 6:47 pm

Quick question – if you dye a veil using tea bags, is it color fast? If it gets wet will the tea stain my dress?
Laura Says:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:21 am

What a brilliant idea! I’m making my own headpiece with white lace and need it to be ivory. Definitely trying this :)
Alyssa Says:
January 19th, 2012 at 1:58 am

Thank you! I needed to know how to do it step-by-step! Just what I was looking for

Stacy Marie Says:

August 13th, 2009 at 10:38 am

That looks so good, you rock! I don’t know that I would be brave enough to do it, but it looks fabulous!

Katey Says:

August 13th, 2009 at 6:49 pm

I read your blog regularly but have never posted…I’m not even a bride and this idea seems extraordinarily scary! As a complete stranger I am incredibly proud of you for doing such an amazing job!

Miss Gator Says:

August 13th, 2009 at 7:04 pm

@Stacy Marie: You can be brave girl! Just have to have your test strips! Also… some of the images of the lace appear much more tea tinted then it is in person. The natural light helped to gauge the right shade to go with.

@Katey: Thank you! It was a bit scary.. If I messed it up I didn’t know where I would get more lace (the cheapest in town is at Joann’s for $10/yd and it is kind of sucky). But it is all in using test strips to gauge the color. It was either do this, or have white lace with an ivory dress. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. :-)

mrknight Says:

August 14th, 2009 at 1:42 am

Ladies, trust me… she had to build up the confidence for weeks. I can’t say that I was any help getting her over that anxiety hump though… I kept insisting that she find more resources or find better step-by-step instructions on how to do this whole “dying lace with tea” thing.

The fact is, there simply weren’t anymore out there. And that’s why we decided this would really be of great value to the Gator Bride readers.

I’m really proud of Miss Gator for just going for it. The lace turned out awesome. Better than I had ever imagined it would.

Hannah Says:

August 14th, 2009 at 9:11 am

As a child in gymnastics we had to do these to our training bras! Gymnastics rules state that you have to wear nude color under garments or nothing. Although many girls opted for nothing, a few of us got crafty and learned how to tea-dye! If us 12 year-olds could figure it out (with a little bit of mom’s supervision) anyone can :)

The Status of Miss Gator's Custom Veil | Gator Bride - A Florida Gator Themed Wedding Blog Says:

August 27th, 2009 at 1:00 pm

[...] of Jacquelyn Brooks Design. I was there to see my veil she has been making, and to drop of the alencon lace I had tea dyed a few weeks [...]

Ima GatorVetMom Says:

September 28th, 2009 at 3:16 am

Hello Miss Gator,

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I have quite a bit of white lace I was saving for a blessing gown for a future granddaughter. My daughter is having a daughter in December and wants ivory lace. Hence my search for ivory (ecru)lace. I remembered reading I could dye white lace with tea and was ecstatic to find your blog. I will save about $200.00 dying my white lace. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Wife and mother of two UF graduates, and two current UF students.

Ashley Says:

November 16th, 2009 at 10:01 am

Thank you so much for posting this. I, like you, have searched the internet for step by step directions and you are the only person I’ve found thus far to show it. Thank you again and I will be trying this today and I cannot wait to see how it turns out. I also got my lace on EBAY!!!

Kate Says:

January 19th, 2010 at 9:36 am

Wow, that worked brilliantly! Thank you! I was really nervous, I only used one tea bag (PG Tips, much stronger than Liptons) and a load of water, so it took an hour before my veil had the colour I wanted, but it’s perfect! Really subtle, but now it really complements my dress, whereas before it just made it look dirty.
Fab! Here’s to Ebay veils (99p!) and tea bags!

Nicki Says:

January 24th, 2010 at 7:34 pm

I’m dying some lace for my senior fashion show right now. Thank you for the tips!

February 20th, 2010 at 1:08 pm

@Nicki @Kate @Ashley @ImaGatorVetMom: I’m so happy I could help you all!

That 'Something Blue' | Gator Bride - A Florida Gator Themed Wedding Blog Says:

February 20th, 2010 at 1:19 pm

[...] Old: Still searching, though the vintage lace I bought on eBay to make my veil would suffice. But, still looking. Something New: My dress! (and [...]

Lynsey Says:

May 13th, 2010 at 3:37 am

Thank you so much, I’ve searched everywhere for ivory dye and it just doesn’t exist anymore, I’ve got some white lace gloves that need dyed ivory. Heres hoping all goes well!
I’ll keep you posted!
Thanks

Jaclyn Says:

June 14th, 2010 at 7:44 pm

I love your blog! I am also a Gator! My fiance is a Seminole (everyone has a bad quality)! Anyhow, I’ve enjoyed reading your blog and I love the fact that you are a DIYer! I also have to use tea to dye my veil! You have been so helpful during the entire wedding process! Everytime I Google something your blog always comes up! Best of luck!

mellow Says:

June 27th, 2010 at 1:54 am

You know, there’s almost no tutorials for tea-dying lace ivory, not brown or some other colour? D:
Anyways, this was extremely helpful, and I have some lovely ivory lace drying in the next room :]

Kristyn Gavrilis Says:

August 2nd, 2010 at 5:47 pm

Thanks so much–I need to darken vail just a shade or two to match my dress! This is a great tutorial-love the details and photos.

Malinda Says:

August 14th, 2010 at 1:30 pm

Thank you so much for this posting!!! I tea-dyed my veil to a light ivory/pearl to match my dress using your guidelines! Very nerve-wrcking but worked great!

JEANETTE Says:

September 23rd, 2010 at 2:15 pm

HI I WAS WONDERING IF THIS WORKS ON TULLE :O SCARED TO BUT I WILL .. YOU MAKE IT LOOK SO EASY AND I LOVE YOUR BOLG :) THANK YOU

September 23rd, 2010 at 5:06 pm

Hi Again….I just used your GREAT way of dying a veil….I used 7 tea bags and 10 cups of water….my veil was ivory and I needed dark ivory/beige I put the veil in the tea for 5 mins..I did not rinse it out …I thought shaking out the access would be better …..and it was!!! I now have the perfect color.my veil is 100% nylon I will now add my crystals :)
thank you!!!! thank you!!!!
Jeanette

Mrs Gator Says:

September 23rd, 2010 at 5:07 pm

@Jeanette: I’m so happy to worked well for you!!!

Christine Says:

October 27th, 2010 at 2:36 pm

I have my mother’s veil that I am wanting to tea-dye. Do you think the tulle will take the color just the same??

Melody Says:

December 7th, 2010 at 1:49 am

Ok so we are two weeks out, and my future husband’s linen shirt is here, but they didn’t have ivory. Against my dress is it looks awfully clean think I should go for it? Also has lots of embroidery thinking I will just bite the bullet here . Any suggestions?

December 7th, 2010 at 11:38 am

@Melody: If you want to, you can try it! I know it will work great, just be very careful in not making it too dark. Also, keeping it white will most likely look fine too. Look online to see Groom’s in white shirts next to Bride’s with ivory dresses. See what you think!

@Christine: Try a small piece of tulle and see if it will. I think it should, in theory, but there is no way of really know till you try!

melissa Says:

December 29th, 2010 at 12:42 pm

Thank you so much for posting this on your wedding blog! I found the perfect veil but it is white and my dress is not! So I am looking forward to dying it to be the right color! thank you so much for your bravery!

Karen Wood Says:

January 13th, 2011 at 11:22 pm

Hi there – just wanted to say THANKS heaps for your instructions! I got some white lace with gold trim to make some lace covered votive candle holders and I really wanted it ivory so have just dyed my lace and it looks FANTASTIC! :)

sandy Says:

February 3rd, 2011 at 11:23 pm

OMG::::::Thank you Thank you Thank you… i just got my lace today to make my viel.. it was WAY whiter than my lace on my dress… Thank you for the wonderful advice.. I cant wait to try it.. keep your fingers crossed for me…LOL

Denise Says:

February 16th, 2011 at 3:03 pm

I have a white (suppose to be white)lace dress with a blue tint. I guess you would call it raw cotton? How do I make it white. I have tried white dye, does not work.

Jen Says:

February 21st, 2011 at 11:12 am

THANK YOU! I just bought the perfect mantilla veil offline, and in my excitement, didn’t realize it was white…my dress is ivory. I so appreciate your step-by-step directions because I will probably have to do this once my veil arrives!

Megan Says:

March 24th, 2011 at 5:41 pm

I am super scared t try this. I have some white gloves that I need just slightly ivory, but I am afriad that it will come out uneven as there is a lot of lace, ribbon and trim on them. I guess I could try with some other fabric and see how it goes…

Melissa Says:

June 10th, 2011 at 2:46 pm

I’m ever so grateful I found this post. I purchased white alencon lace trim for my wedding dress, and in the store the small swatch of lace from my dress didn’t look that bad. So I figured it would blend. Once I got home with $150 worth of lace, I realized it actually stood out noticeably. I couldn’t return the lace, and I was definitely nervous to dunk such nice lace into a tea bath. You are the only person on the internet (that I found) that actually dyed alencon lace in tea, and it turned out looking great. I was still nervous, but I went with your suggestion of 2 tea bags to 10 cups of water, and I kept my lace in there a little longer, swishing it around for 20 seconds or so. It came perfect! I read elsewhere that it’s a good idea to dunk the lace in water afterwards to rinse out the tea because something in the tea can break down the lace over time.

Gayle Says:

June 18th, 2011 at 5:23 pm

Help!! I have to tea dye my daughter wedding veil, fron white to diamond whie. Does anyone one know how many on how many tea bags to use. And how long to dip.

Lesley Says:

October 31st, 2011 at 8:05 am

I used good old Yorkshire tea to dye old cotton lace curtains from super white to ivory. I only used 1 teabag to the 10 cups of water & literally dipped them in & out.Even then it’s quite a ‘srong’ ivory, but I’m happy with the colour. Best of luck to you girls trying to do a ‘wedding match’: just ‘go for it’! Thanks for the ‘inspiration’.

Maayan Says:

January 4th, 2012 at 6:47 pm

Quick question – if you dye a veil using tea bags, is it color fast? If it gets wet will the tea stain my dress?

Laura Says:

January 13th, 2012 at 8:21 am

What a brilliant idea! I’m making my own headpiece with white lace and need it to be ivory. Definitely trying this :)

Alyssa Says:

January 19th, 2012 at 1:58 am

Thank you! I needed to know how to do it step-by-step! Just what I was looking for

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