How to Distress Embroidery
While some people make it their mission to restore old things to make them look new again, others do just the opposite. For them, the "character" of a vintage embroidered napkin, hankie or apron is not just in its delicate stitching and the loving work that went into making it but also in the stains and wear from everyday use. When an embroidered piece looks "too new" to them, they employ methods to distress and age it before its time. The trick is to make it look authentic.
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Instructions
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Stain It
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1
Soak the embroidered item in tea for an all-over aged sepia tone. Use two or three tea bags for every cup of water and steep it for an hour before removing the tea bags and letting the piece soak. Check on the color every 10 minutes to determine whether it is done. When it is the color you want, rinse the piece in cold water and hang it to dry.
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2
Add realistic coffee stains to napkins by dipping the edge of a ceramic coffee mug into some strong coffee and carefully pressing it against the fabric. Leave the mug inverted for an hour. Then rinse out the napkin and hang it up to dry.
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3
Rub real mud from your yard on your embroidery. Focus on parts of the piece that would naturally get the most wear with regular use. Use just a small amount of mud on the tip of your finger but rub it in well. Get it deep into the fibers. Then launder it as usual. Most of it will wash away, but it will be faintly dingy -- exactly the look you don't want for your white socks.
Wear It Out
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4
Rub fine-grit sandpaper directly on the edges of the embroidery. Focus on the parts that are raised the most because they would get the most wear in real life.
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5
Use sharp embroidery scissors to carefully clip a few fibers of embroidery floss from the edges of the piece. Then rub the area with sandpaper. This will create an extreme aged look.
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6
Rub a wire brush or steel wool over the piece. Pay special attention to the edges of the fabric, to make it fray.
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References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images
