Dye and keep for longer.

First of all, if you are a regular reader of our blog please do not despair. This post concludes our soft furninshings interlude and from next week we will be back to our  usual topics!

A couple of years ago we were given some beautiful rattan furniture from friends. They were without any sort of cushions and not really usable in that state.We were lucky enough to rescue some foam from other friends who were getting rid of a sofa and it was easy enough to measure and cut the foam to shape. We then made covers from sturdy cotton fabric.

We picked a lovely vibrant design from Ikea for our sewing project and the covers turned out just the way we had imagined them.

Now after a couple of years of were and tear they were looking slightly less appealing. Even the intermittent Irish sunlight had managed to bleach certain areas and our two kitten’s decision to make them into their beds has not improved the situation.

All the food, tea, coffee and wine that have been happily consumed over the last couple of years, while chatting away to friends and family, had also made noticeable marks.

So what to do? We like to use things for as long as possible and always try to eliminate waste.The choice fell on the obvious solution of using a tin of fabric dye to spruce up the covers and hide all the evidence.We chose black but wanted to be able to still see some of the design, which we absolutely love, after the process.So we used a lot less of the dye than recommended to the amount of fabric and hoped for the best.Fabric dye is not the most environmentally sound substance, but in this case we think the use of one small tin is excusable as the alternative would have been to use another lot of new fabric, putting a lot more strain on natural resources.

When we pulled the wet covers from the washing machine we could see straight away that we had managed to get a great result. The whimsical designs could still be enjoyed but the multiple problems were covered up by a sleek and elegant uniformity. Joy!

We put in a couple of red cushion covers as well and we are very pleased with how they turned out. Now we are looking forward to a new season of growth and many more happy memories to be made in our conservatory.