Q: I have the perfect slipcover for the chair in my nursery. Unfortunately it is sage green which does NOT 'go'. I would love to dye the slipcover white and was thinking I could bleach it. It is a cotton/poly blend. I know that generally polyester is colorfast, but is there even a chance it could work? And if so, how would I go about doing it?
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Editor: I have zero experience in this area, so let's hope a reader or two can shed some light on this? Anyone??
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bleaching might work, but you may have to add blueing or something similar to give it a white look & not a bleached out look.
maybe try fb or craigslist & find someone w a white one to trade!?
best of luck!
no way. this will not bleach evenly, and will end up as a reddish, not-white mottled mess. buy a new one, or make do with a cute throw over it.
Even if it worked, it would feel horrible against your skin due to the bleach drying out the fabric, and I doubt it would get white. You would probably have to settle for a urine yellow color. Best bet? Either trade for a white one (or break down and buy it) or take apart your existing slip cover to use it as a pattern to make a new one out of the fabric of your choice.
Unfortunately, it is not going to work the way you would like. Also, because it a cotton/poly blend, it will be difficult to dye it a darker color.
I looked into dying my wedding dress which had poly and virtually everyone advised against it. Going from sage to white (and having good results) is probably never going to happen but there are fabric dyes made for poly fabrics so you might be able to go darker. The line is called idye poly.
I know someone with a similar problem - thier 'perfect in shape' slipcover was NOT anywhere near perfect in colour, IT WAS TIE DYE. She brought it to a freind who could sew, as well as the fabric she liked, and ripped the stiches out and used the ugly slipcover as a template on how to make a new one.
The only thing worth trying would be to go darker. I disagree that a cotton poly blend can't be dyed, I've done it for years. You'll likely end up with lighter stitching, because poly thread won't take, but I personally like a contrasting stitch.
I work in a costume shop with a professional dye person and I can guarantee that this is a terrible idea. In general things that are mixed fibers and were commercially dyed will not bleach evenly. Additionally, the bleaching process is very destructive to the fibers and your slipcover will be filled with holes in no time. As if all of that wasn't enough, bleaching and dying will fill a nursery chair with a lot of chemicals that you may not want around a "chewy" baby. Our dye person wears a full-body tyvek suit at work every day to avoid exposure to highly carcinogenic dye materials
Um, not totally related.... but are you sure you want a white chair for the nursery? That does not strike me as the most practical choice...
Your best bet may be to use the green slipcover as a pattern for a new white one. There's basically no way to go white with poly, and trying very hard will destroy the fabric completely.
I'd try to go darker. Navy blue would look fabulous and much better than sage green.
since you already dont like it and will most likely have it replaced why not give it a try. i am thinking it wont come out white but some other pale yellowish color. i did take a blend shirt that i got bleach spots on and bleached the entire thing. it was already ruined so why not try. it went from dark purple to a medium pink!!! it was fine i rinsed it and washed it. had a few more wears out of it too!
Hey, for the @jillandmo side discussion - white slipcovers are AWESOME with toddlers because...you just take it off and throw it in the wash. Non-slipcover would be a disaster, I grant you, but when we got the white slipcovered couch angels sang. Comes out sparkling every time, and if there is a stain I just bleach it (every month, basically). Any other color, you can't bleach!
Sadly, and I can confirm this, what will happen is ripping at the seams and weakened fibers even if you do manage a solid color. Bleach destroys fibers at the level of concentration needed to change the color that much. :(