Is Dyeing Chair Fabric with Upholstery Dye a Viable Option?




Hi,
I have a beloved chair with fabric that's marked and looking worn out. I'm considering using upholstery dye to bring it back to life. Has anyone here tried dyeing chair fabric before?
I'd love to hear about your experiences and any advice you have on the process. Also, if you could recommend any trustworthy upholstery dye brands, that would be fantastic.
Looking forward to your insights!

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I would advise painting with a fabric paint unless you can take the cover off. Trying to dye it in place, it won't be consistent. You will get more of a tye-dye effect.
I agree with Kathy. Have you tried cleaning it? A good upholstery cleaner may give you good results.
I also agree. The color would not be consistent The fabric and padding would absorb dye unevenly. Best solution is the clean it. Another option is to reupholster the chair.
I agree with the other posters. Fabric dye will be very watery and will soak into the padding and likely the soiled stained area will not dye in a similar color to the rest of the fabric. There are several totorials here on Hometalk providing info about painting upholstered pieces. Just enter "Painting Upholstery" in the seaarch box at the top left coner of the homepage to get tips and tricks about a good outcome.
This video might be able to help you out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO9CdquuXu4
Clean or upholster are your 2 best options, the dye will be uneven if you do it on the chair itself. Another option would be to paint the chair's fabric.
Look into the link below for advice on how to do this:
https://www.hometalk.com/search/all?filter=paint%20a%20fabric%20chair
Ideally start with giving the fabric a terrific and thorough cleaning. If it's too complicated to do at home, check for someone in your area. You might be able to steam clean it but spot test first in case you're unsure of the fabric make-up.
I've heard mixed results about painting upholstered furniture in general so be sure to do some tests there too should you go that route.
Hi Candice, hope this helps you out. You can try chalk painting your chair to give it a new look!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nz-45ch3o4
acrylic latex paint is what I would do. A neighbor did this and it came out great.
While the fabric is still damp, apply the first coat of paint. One of the keys to keeping the fabric soft is to use diluted paint, and paint multiple coats. She diluted the Sherwin Williams acrylic latex paint in the following ratio: 3 cups of paint to 2 cups of water.. She did a second chair with Behr paint it was good but not as nice as the first one
LOTS of posts on painting fabric look at the top left of this page and SEARCH by the magnifying glass symbol. The chair must be cleaned if you try to dye it, the stains will show thru. I have not tried the paint and fabric softener people use by they say it works well.
Hello Candice: If you are in love with the fabric, I'd try giving it a good cleaning. Here's a site that shows exactly how to do that:
https://www.mydomaine.com/cleaning-upholstered-chair-6499401
Good luck