This week I've been busy stitching various bits and pieces for Christmas. Some mini stockings and a few gifty pieces. All of the thought to winter inspired me to turn my attention to my living room.
All of my furniture is second hand and starting to look somewhat tired. I decided to attempt a bit of a dye job on the sofas to add some colour. We live in a rental property so the walls are neutral and when we moved in the biggest and most comfortable sofa we could find was cream. I love it - space for two to stretch out, just the right amount of squish and the right height - generally it's a great sofa. That said there's only so much cream one person can take.
So I embarked on upgrading my sofa. I bought dylons burlesque red which is a deep purple-red and looks gorgeous on the box. Armed with a few boxes and lots of salt I stripped the fabric off the sofa.
I have to admit it was a bit of a mission. Dividing the covers into roughly equal loads. Washing with dye. Washing without dye and then drying all the covers. I didn't dare to put them in the dryer in case they shrank so for a few days we had sofa covers draped from chairs and clothes horses all over the place.
The finished effect? Well it certainly isn't completely progressional. I think a larger machine would have allowed more movement in the fabric. My tiny machine has left a bit of mottling and crease lines across the covers where it couldn't move enough. I was concerned that I had ruined the sofa but once the covers were on I think it looks pretty funky. It has a bit of an aged effect to it and I think the mottling blends in with the age of the sofa. All in all I'm happy plus I've learnt some good lessons about dye and fabric.
I feel inspired to play about more with colour and try to experiment with dye a little bit more - here's to some more experimental upcycling! :-) who knows maybe a little bit of art coming up.
Watch this space.
