would you try dying your furniture to save money?

[thumper55]

I have a slipcover couch and an armchair. The slipcover is a pale yellow thick canvas fabric and I'm interested in changing the look of my room and I want the furniture to be a birch or moss color.

to buy new slipcovers from the company where I purchased the furniture would be approx 1k

Would you attempt to dye the slipcovers yourself? Or I was thinking I can try to find a dry cleaners that might do this (although I've never heard of this service)

[cahabalily]

Try to find an art school that has a fabrics department. We have one nearby that I've used to dye old BM dresses before.... If not there, I would never try it myself

[explorer2001]

Cheapo alert - I'd opt for Target slip covers not $1000 fancy ones and I personally am to chicken to try dying anything.

[hannamarin]

No way. Donttry it yourself. It is unlikely that you will do it evenly, to the correct colour and no bleeding,etc.
Unless you know someone who does this and can help you
What is wrong with the present colour? Cant you get a throw/pillows to hide it a bit?

[thumper55]

May 19, 2012 16:10:19 GMT -5 explorer2001 said:

Cheapo alert - I'd opt for Target slip covers not $1000 fancy ones and I personally am to chicken to try dying anything.

my sofa have zippered covers for the cushions, so a Target slipcover wouldn't have a true fit since it's just one large piece :/

[thumper55]

May 19, 2012 16:10:36 GMT -5 @hannamarin said:

No way. Donttry it yourself. It is unlikely that you will do it evenly, to the correct colour and no bleeding,etc.
Unless you know someone who does this and can help you
What is wrong with the present colour? Cant you get a throw/pillows to hide it a bit?

nothing wrong with it at all ; but I purchased it for our old house for when I had a light and airy cottage-y look in mind

my current home has a lot of neutral and browns going on so the pale yellow bugs me now

[cahabalily]

You could buy a new sofa for $1k...

[thumper55]

May 19, 2012 16:19:57 GMT -5 cahabalily said:

You could buy a new sofa for $1k...

well to replace my set just to change out the colors would be over 2k..
I definitely don't want to spend 1k on new covers..If I can't get them dyed I'll live with pale yellow

[heightsyankee]

How much are you worth? $20/hour? Make sure you account for your time.

[yellowumbrella]

If I was willing and able to buy a new slipcover if it turned out badly, I'd give it a shot.

[trident0]

Can you hire a seamstress to make a new one using your current slipcovers as a pattern?

[reginaphalange72]

I actually JUST did this! I made a slipcover for a hand-me-down sectional sofa, but was dumb and made it white. I have two black dogs and a backyard full of dirt. Bad idea.

Anyway, I wanted it dark gray so I hand dyed it (in a big rubbermaid bin) using the RIT gray, and it came out really light gray/blueish. Not what I was aiming for. So I tried again using black dye (for a sectional I needed 6 boxes of dye) and my washing machine. It still has a blueish tint to it, but it came out GREAT. Now I don't need to replace the couch for a while!

Whatever you do, do a test dye first so you know how it will look. They seem to come out quite a bit lighter than the box. It is quite a project, and the washing machine is definitely the way to go. SO much easier.

[steph96]

From my experience, canvas is harder to dye. It would probably take twice as much dye.

Is there maybe a spot with excess fabric that you could trim off and test dye?

[80sjunkie]

I've dyed very small items, a whole couch cover would be too much for me. I'd try to hire a professional.

[thumper55]

May 19, 2012 18:18:44 GMT -5 @crackhabit said:

I'd be afraid to try this. It sounds like the slip covers are in good condition but you just want a different color, right? How much could you sell them for? That could offset some of the cost. Have you shopped around for them online for cheaper than it would cost in the store?

I"ve looked on ebay, but it would be around around $350 just for one slipcover; It's a copycat of the PB basic sofa and armchair. the armchair is oversized (1.5x normal size)

its hard to find the slipcover for my oversized armchair so I'd have to buy from the original vendor for that.

[thumper55]

thanks everyone. After kicking this around more, I'm going to live with pale yellow.
I'm not prepared to spend the money to get new ones if I screw it up.

[drloretta]

No. I'd sell the old slipcover to fund a new one.