Here's a lovely little blog. No heart wrenching information of suffering and pain, just fun and kindness. So...
How to Make a Tea Bag (you know you've always wanted to!)
All this stuff about hidden plastics in certain tea bags kinda got to me. Why's it there? Can we not cope with an occasional split tea bag? Has our lives got so privileged and protected, that we fret over such first world problems? Or is it a selling gizmo, that someone's getting rich on?
Ahem! Hold on....this blog ISN'T about suffering and pain, eh?
Start again...
I want to hoard and save everything. I don't like throwing away. Recycling and 'making do' makes me happy. I have lots of scrap cotton just waiting to be morphed into something really useful. If you don't have three huge boxes of such scraps sitting in your bedroom, you may be a little less rich than I am. Don't worry, you can use anything cotton that might otherwise find it's way to your dustbin. Firstly, cotton can be composted, given to clothing bins, used as rags for cleaning...don't throw it. It's cost the world quite dearly, just in it's production and manufacturing, so please recycle what you can. Back to tea bags... An old tea towel, your ex's best shirt, your cheating lover's Y-fronts for that matter, can all be cut up into squares to hold healing herbs and then have boiling water poured over them.
The rectangle needs to be 6-7" on it's longest side.
Holding a shortest side, fold a little fabric over and stitch about an inch of the fold. Repeat this at the top of the other shortest side.
Fold this edge over itself, and over again. This is going to be the little tube that holds the string for you to pull your tea bag closed. Sew from one side to the other. You'll be sewing along the top, longest side of fabric. By double folding, you'll get more strength for all that opening, closing and dipping of the bag.
This is what your square should now look like, or something similar (It's not a precise thing)
Now you need to sew the sides and bottom of the bag. Any how you do it is okay. It's make and mend, a learning process. I've folded this muslin fabric over both edges, side and bottom, rough hems and all, and whizzed along it with the machine.
What you DO need to remember, though, is to start your sewing BELOW the opening for the braid tie.
Sewing all done,
So that the top fold remains open. Turn the bag inside out (or is that outside in?)
Now you can thread your braid through the bag. Use a small safety pin to take the braid through the narrow space. Knot the ends of the braid so it doesn't fall out.
And there you are! It may not be pretty, but I'm sure it'll be functional. The looser weave cottons will dry better between brews. No need to wash or sterilise, cos you're using boiling water. I've just picked herbs from my garden (In February, yay!). Lemon balm, Mint, Rosemary, and Dandelion. All my 'go to' herbs for a fresh pick-me-up. You can use dried herbs, and you can use loose tea.
Another thought, you could fill them with pot-pouri, or dried lavender, or rose petals mixed with herbs for a lovely natural bath bomb. What a nice little pressy for a mate who deserves a treat.