The Complete Guide to Dye your Clothes Black With Coffee

Many people have been invested in doing DIY things over the past few years. The rise in popularity of this trend has made people see the many uses of things in their daily lives. This article will show you how to dye clothes black with coffee.

Can Coffee Dye Clothes Black?

The answer is yes. You can use coffee to dye clothes black. This is an option that can help you save a lot of money, and it’s pretty effective too. All you need is coffee, some pots, basins, and soda ash or vinegar to help set the color.

There are many ways to dye clothes, but there are two ways that are proven to be very effective when using coffee. If you want a more creative way to dye your clothes black, check out these two options below.

• Mottling

Mottling is a type of dyeing with no specific design but rather marks and lines all over the cloth. This can give you many pretty ideas to do, and you can do it whatever way you want to. Just make sure that you have enough coffee dye for your desired design.

• Tie-Dye

Tie-Dye is a process where you either fold or twist a specific area of the cloth and dye it like that. This can give a wide range of designs depending on what you did to the cloth. When using coffee as your dye, the exact process for tie-dyeing regular clothes can be done.

What You Will Need

Since it’s a DIY project, you need several things to do this perfectly and effortlessly. A single item missing from the list can ruin the process and make you start over. Better be safe than sorry; that’s why we made a list of things that you’ll need for the process. Check it out below.

• Coffee

How can you do this project without the main ingredient, coffee? Make sure to prepare it beforehand and check if you have enough to dye your clothing of choice. If you want a darker and richer black color, you will need more coffee than the regular.

• Large Pot

Once the coffee is brewed, you’d need a big pot where you can transfer the coffee to. You can also use this to do the next step if your pot is big enough for the clothing of your choice.

• Large Basin

Essentially, when dealing with clothes, you’d always need a basin that’s ready to use. You would use this for most things, such as soaking and rinsing, so make sure that you have one set aside for the process. Also, ensure that it’s big enough for your clothes to fit into.

• Clothes to Dye

Here’s where you decide what type of clothing you’ll be using for the process and how many pieces you should dye.

• Spoon

You will use this to stir the clothes with the coffee dye you’ll be making.

• White vinegar or Soda Ash

Choose either of these two depending on what type of fabric you are using. If you are dyeing cotton, bamboo, linen, or any similar fabric, you need to use soda ash to set the color. On the other hand, if you are working with silk, nylon, wool, or similar fabrics, you need to use vinegar.

• Coldwater

It’s a definite must when working with laundry, clothes, and DIY dyeing.

• Cloth sack or Pillowcase

You will use any of these items to dry and set the color on the clothing of your choice.

• Hot Iron

This will help set the color further near the end of the process.

Preparing the Coffee Dye

Once you’ve gathered all of the necessary things for the process, it’s now time to prepare the coffee dye that you will use to dye your clothes black.

This section will tell you how to get the right shade that you want and make enough to do the process perfectly. Here’s what you need to do to prepare the coffee dye without further ado.

Brew the Coffee Dye

The first step is to brew the coffee dye. Take note that the amount of coffee dye you need will ultimately depend on how many clothes you want to dye. Nevertheless, it’s better to prepare a bigger batch of brewed coffee since a single serving won’t be enough to do the trick.

You also need to consider the shade of coffee dye you want. If you want a rich and dark color, you need to add more coffee to your liking. A strong brew will help give you that deep shade of black.

Try doing a cold brew or instant coffee for a more straightforward process. Whichever you choose because both work well in doing the job.

Boil the Coffee Dye

Once you’re done brewing the coffee, transfer all of it to a large pot with a lid. Wait for it to boil in medium heat. When it reaches boiling point, turn off the stove and put the lid back on. You will need this hot for the next step in the process, which involves soaking the clothes in the coffee dye.

If you are reading up to this point, you are now ready to dye your clothes black by using DIY coffee dye. Proceed to the next section to find out how to do the process.

Step-by-Step Instructions on Dyeing Clothes Black with Coffee

In the previous section, you learned how to create the coffee dye we will use for the process. We will show you how to dye your clothes in the coffee dye in easy, simple steps. Get ready to work and dye your clothes.

Step1. Soaking the Clothes

Since you already have your coffee dry ready, grab your clothing of choice and soak it in the large pot filled with coffee dye. Ensure that all parts of the clothing are entirely immersed in the dye. You can use a spoon, ladle, or anything you want to push the cloth down into the dye and eliminate air bubbles.

Once you are sure that the clothing is completely submerged, let it sit for half an hour. If the color seems too light by then, turn on the stove, let the coffee dye boil again, and let the cloth sit for an hour.

Step 2. Setting the Clothes

At this point, the clothing should be left in the pot. Since coffee is not colorfast, we need to ensure it sets by adding another ingredient to our coffee dye.

Get two tablespoons of vinegar or soda ash and mix it with the dye. For better and equal distribution, you may want to move the cloth on one side of the pot and pour the added ingredient on the other side before mixing it all with a spoon. Let it sit for 20 minutes before removing it from the pot.

• Rinse the Clothes – The next step is to rinse the cloth with cold water. You may choose to do it on a large basin or under the running water on the kitchen sink. Just make sure that you’ve got all areas covered and the water from the cloth is clean already.

• Dry the Clothes – Lastly, let the cloth dry. You can either hang it dry or use a dryer. If you’re going for the dryer, you can put the cloth inside a pillowcase or cloth sack before putting it on the dryer to help set the color more.

Helpful Tips in Dyeing Clothes with Coffee

Since we’re finished with all the steps to dye clothes black with coffee, here are some tips that you can use to make your DIY project more manageable and hassle-free. These helpful hacks will help you get a perfect finish and make the process effortless. Here are four helpful tips to make this dyeing process easy without further ado.

Drying in a pillowcase

If you want a genius hack to help the color set further, put your dyed cloth in a clean pillowcase and let it run in the highest setting of the dryer. This will help improve the color of the coffee on the clothes and make them look better in the long run.

Decide the shade before brewing the coffee

Before you start brewing the coffee, you need to settle on what shade of black you want for your clothing. Keep in mind that if you want a darker shade of black, you would need a darker coffee brew color.

Making coffee brew darker is easy since you need to add more coffee to it. Another option is to choose a darker coffee roast to give you a richer black color.

You need to let the color set

After leaving your cloth in the coffee brew for some time, you must let the color set on them. Since coffee does not have colorfast effects on clothing, you need to add soda ash or vinegar when it’s almost done.

You need to take note of the type of fabric you’re working with and figure out the best choice for it. Another option is to pre-soak the clothes between these two materials.

Take note of the cloth’s color for the first few washes

Once you’ve started wearing the dyed clothing, be careful when washing them. The color should last for quite some time but check if they fade over time. It may have something to do with the detergent you’re using, and you’d need to change it.

Summary

Dyeing your clothes black is now made easier with the help of coffee. Now that you know how to dye clothes black with coffee, you’d be able to do this DIY project effortlessly. Take note of all the trips we offered and follow all the steps correctly.