How to Dye Coffee Filters – and DRY them too!

Coffee filter crafts are all the rage and have been for awhile. I actually just made my first coffee filter wreath and it turned out way better than I expected it to. I’m one of those “on the fly” crafters so if I can do it, I know you can! There is a little prep work that needs to be done when making coffee filter crafts, if you’re planning on dying your filters a certain color. It’s not difficult at all, so I’m gonna show you how to dye coffee filters and how to DRY them fast too – so you don’t have to wait to get craftin’!

Here’s what you’ll need:

water

coffee filters

food coloring of your choice
(I wanted pink and cream, so I used red food coloring on half of the filters and then I coffee stained the other half just using really strong day old brewed coffee.)

 

Instructions:

Decide how many coffee filters need to be dyed, depending on your craft.

Fill a bowl or container with water, starting with 2-4 cups of water. Then pour in some food coloring and try a filter or two out to see if it’s the right shade. Add more food coloring to get a little darker or more water to lighten the dye.

**HINT: Make them a little darker than you actually want, because after they’re dry – they’re going to be a little lighter in color.

After you get the shade you want, begin placing coffee filters in and soaking them in the dye. Just leave them submerged for a few seconds, then wring the dyed water out of the filters with your hands, and then lay flat on a cookie sheet or another surface. You want to make sure to squeeze most of the water out, so the filters aren’t dripping wet. You can dye 10-15 filters at a time to save a little time. Now you’re ready to dry them!

 

How to DRY dyed coffee filters quickly: 

I’ve read online that just leaving dyed coffee filters out to air dry takes forevahhh!!!! I am not a patient crafter. At all. So, I decided to just stick those babies in the clothes dryer on low-medium heat. Literally put the filters IN the clothes dryer and dried them in 2 minute increments so they wouldn’t singe. DO NOT put them in and walk away from the dryer folks. We’re drying paper here, not a load of towels! You don’t want to use a high heat – just a low to medium. And again, DO NOT walk away from these as you’re waiting.

 

Check the filters every 2 minutes. You’ll eventually start to feel them getting dryer and dryer. Just dry them in 2 minute increments, and after about 5 times or so they should be pretty dry or at least starting to dry. Once they’re dry, I just put mine in a laundry basket and went and sat on the couch and made 2 piles. A pink pile and a cream pile. Just flatten them out as you stack them. You can store them in a coffee can or similar until you’re ready to use them.

Here’s what I did with mine……..

Click here for our Coffee Filter Wreath tutorial

Have you ever crafted with coffee filters?