Where can I find antique looking ribbon?

Question

I'm looking for some ribbon to hang picture frames with in my daughters room. The furniture is antique white and the picture frams are antique white on distressed wood. I need to find ribbon that will match the off white color but also pull in another color from her room, like lavendar or soft pale pink, or even a soft green. I've checked a couple of craft stores but no luck. Anyone know of an online store, or a local store that would carry such ribbon? I'm in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Answer 1

I assume you've tried Michael's, Zim's, JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby, Robert's, etc.?  You can also try some of the decorating stores like Rod Works - they sometimes have ribbons that you can't find other places.  

You could also try getting some lavendar, mint, or pink gingham checkered ribbon, and then tea- or coffee-staining it to give it an "aged" look over the color....

Hope this helps.

Coffee or tea staining (usually works best on fabrics with at least some linen, cotton or wool content) - brew extra strong coffee or tea - personally, I prefer tea.  

Use five tea bags of black tea (don't use herbal as sometimes they turn the fabric reddish instead of creamy or brownish) to about 4 cups of boiling water, then turn off the heat and allow to steep for at least 5 to 10 minutes or so.  Then, get your ribbon wet, squeeze out the water, and dunk it into the tea, fully saturating it.  Allow to sit for another 10-20 minutes - stir it occasionally to be sure the color is even, and that you are getting the effect you want.  

Once you have the color you're after (remember it will dry lighter, though), take it out, squeeze the tea out of it, and rinse well to get the acids, etc., out of it.  Use cool water and mild soap, but be sure to get it thoroughly clean so that the tannic acids in the tea don't continue to break down the fibers in the ribbon.

If too much of the tea color fades out (and sometimes it does, depending on the fabric content of the ribbon), you can dip it in the tea again and follow the same steps until you get an effect you like.  Once you're satisfied, put a tablespoon of vinegar into a gallon of cold water, and dunk your ribbon in this mixture to set the color.  At this point, you can dry and iron your ribbon and it will be ready to use.

Same process for coffee, only use about 4-5 tablespoons of coffee grounds for about 4 cups of water, brewed.  I've never used instant coffee to stain with but I'm sure it can be used; you'd just have to experiment with how much of the granules you'd have to add to the water to get something of sufficient strength.

Here's a link, too:  http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...