apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

how about dying them slightly darker, by soaking them in tea. years ago annie liebovitz did the same thing with a white sweatsuit for a tom seaver photo shoot. the color was phenomenal.

sorry that i don't have a suggestion but i do have a compliment - and a question... i love your coffee table and i've been looking for something just like it. could you tell me where you got it? thanks so much! jackie

Check out the comments on a recent post in San Francisco on a similar subject.

http://sanfrancisco.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/101206/good-questions/good-questions-who-will-dye-my-slipcovers-013367

Aljo Dyes.

I don't know how I know about this place, but I bet they can help you. It's upstairs in a loft on Franklin Street. The trick is going to be getting a smooth application.

http://www.aljodye.com/main.html

I am having the hardest time finding couch slipcovers. Where did you get yours? Or does anyone have suggestions?

I suggest contacting FIT or tracking down a Surface or Textile Design instructor. They should know how to dye fabric.

I had a hard time finding a place to dye a slipcover for a chaise lounge a few years ago. Apparently many of the dyes are toxic and illegal to use, depending on the state (I was in Mass at the time). Good luck.

There are a bunch of places in NYC that dye fabric in small amounts for the fashion industry. Try looking into: Colibri, Eagle Dyers, Sample Dyeing. Not sure if they will do a slip cover, but don't see why not. You can give them a color standard and they would dye to match (may not be an exact match but usually comes pretty close). It also depends on what fabric the slipcover is made of. Cotton is much easier to dye and match than a synthetic fiber. These places usually run anywhere from $150 to 250 per job.

Otherwise, tea dyeing is very easy to do to get an ivory or cream color. Just start w/ a few bags and add more until you get the color you want. When you rinse it out, the color will lighten a bit.

thanks everyone for the comments. I now have some investigating to do. good leads, Barbara and Charlene. I would never have thought of those contacts (particularly the dye company!).

who knew I had a twin soul in SF?! thanks for the link to that post, Lisa. I saw a link to the service in Oregon somewhere else on AT. I was hoping to find a place in NYC where I can walk my covers in and have them back in a couple of days, but it's very reassuring to know who to contact if I can't find such a service.

Eddie, I love the idea of having tea-dyed covers. and I'm laughing out loud at the idea of me doing this. my kitchen would get more action than it's seen since I moved here 6 years ago! I'm really much more a pay-for-service than a DIY girl. I think I might try out the tea dye on a tshirt to see what it looks like. it sounds really cool.

thanks for the compliment, Jackie. my "coffee table" is actually the Norrebo storage bench from Ikea without the drawer. I ordered one too many and have been using the extra as a make-shift coffee table.

Jess, my couch came with slipcovers. it's the Ektorp sectional from Ikea (yes, yes, I have lots of things from Ikea!). years ago I tried covering an old couch with Pottery Barn and SureFit (from Bed, Bath & Beyond) slipcovers, but I never really liked how they looked. recently I've seen a new style of SureFit in BB&B that I like better than the one I purchased. perhaps those will work for you.

ooooo, more leads. thanks, LK.

LK and Eddie, do you think I could manage to tea dye my couch covers? it seems like an awful lot of fabric to dye. would I need bathtubs full of tea for the job?

clearly I've never done anything like this before, but I think I'd be so proud of my couch if I dyed it myself.

Beware of tea-dyeing - it can come out very patchy - although the colour if lovely - make sure you use lots of water and stir the fabric around in it - don't let it sit for any length of time as the dye iwll collect in patches

Ikea has an alternate slipcover for that couch -- 'Idemo beige' . . . but possibly darker than what you're aiming for?

See http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10103&storeId=12&langId=-1&productId=10964

I agree with LK. I'm a designer in the fashion industry and I always use Eagle Dyers. I find that their prices are best and their lead tines are the fastest I've seen. Another good company for dying is Gene Mignola on 25th Street, but they deal primarily with the theatre/costume indusrty and their prices are higher. Go with Eagle Dyers, but don't call them to inquire, just go in and you'll have better service.

Eagle Dyers
335 W 35th St, 2nd floor
New York, NY 10001

Good luck,

DS

I am looking for someone to dye my denim slip covered couch covers too - and have had a really tough time finding anyone.
This could possibly be a great business for someone.
Thanks for the posting!