Sweaty tshirt effect

[FameAsser]

Hi all

I am going to be needing to put together an outfit similar to this one :



The part I am struggling with is the white vest. I need to make it look worn and have the permanent wet look where it looks like sweat would be staining the shirt. I have plain white vests. I did Google and the pointers were towards a Tea Bath, let it dry, then use cooking oil to permanently stain the "sweat" in.

What would be your thoughts?

Also, tea baths...would that be any old tea? So if I just ripped up a load of teabags and soaked in that for a good few hours it would be fine? Also, any tips on applying the cooking oil etc?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers in advance!

 

[purplybunny]

NOOOOOOOO!! Don't rip up teabags for tea staining! How you do tea staining (or tea dying as it's also known) is this.

Boil the kettle, get 5 tea bags (black tea) put in a basin, add boiling water and some salt, about 1/2 teaspoon. Let it stand for 5-10minutes, then squeeze the tea out. Put what you want stained into the basin, leave until cool, then remove from basin. Gently squeeze the material and lay flat on absorbant paper until dry. It can also be painted on with a paint brush if you only want to dye certain areas.

DO NOT RIP UP THE TEABAGS! If you rip up the teabags, the leaves will get everywhere and will be a nightmare for you and it will ruin your project.

Check out my Armagh Rhymers build for my build a bear Lion (link in signature) and you can see how it looks after it has fully dried flat from tea dying. If you add the salt I wouldn't think you would need to "fix" it with anything. Though maybe someone else here would have something else to add. I have only experience with tea dying and dying in general.

Edit: If you want it to look darker, leave it in the tea longer, also different fabrics and colours will dye differently.

 

[FameAsser]

So would you say tea dying is the best way to get the dirty shirt look I need for the vest?


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[purplybunny]

Depends on how "sweaty" you want it to look. Tea dying would work well, esp if it's on white or cream. Though different teas do provide different colours, if you use coloured herbal teas for example. That will provide different colours. If you have the time and already have the tea, you could experiment with different teas. Not to mention vegetable/fruits, though this could smell your shirt. Though if you're after a sweaty look, this might be ideal?

Though if you are short on time and only have black tea, it would give you a good result.

Edit: The tea in herbal teas is not as strong for dying as black tea. It's more suited to dying paper or for a softer effect on material.

 

[FameAsser]

I have a week to sort it. The vests are currently just plain white. So I was thinking that the tea dying would effectively darken and dull it to a mucky-grey/brown type colour, and then I just need to make a permanent sweat "v" from the neck down


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[purplybunny]

Then you don't want to mess about. That would work for the overall look, you could try using a solution of water left over from boiling potatoes and a bit of sugar dissolved into it (no more than 1 teaspoon) and paint that on. Though it's been a while since I've worked with the above solution or with vegetable dyes.

Though someone else here, might have a better solution for you.

 

[fdileague]

wouldn't a little touch of vegetable oil give it that desired look?

 

[FameAsser]

Hi fdileague. That's what I have read elsewhere. Would it be a lot of it I would need or just a tiny amount? Would it be neat or diluted? Is it just a case of getting a basting brush and just brushing it on where I need it?




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[purplybunny]

Have asked a friend who has used vegetable oil and she said to use a little bit on a paint brush or silicone basting brush. Pour it into something like an egg cup, dip brush in and then brush excess off the side. Then paint it on and let it dry flat.