Material to cover couches

whizzing

I have decided to re cover my two couches as they are still in really good condition put the material has been badly sun damaged. They have loose covers on at present and I have washed them but on course that didn't deal with the fading.
Now I want to buy reasonably priced material to make new loose covers, but I need 40 metres for the two couches so it needs to be very reasonable. Do you know where I might get this?

Please don't tell me just do get new couches as I can't bear the thought of throwing out two really good couches, although I do know it would probably be cheaper (although expensive !!) and a lot less hassle !!!!!

MrsBartolozzi

What material are they made from? If cotton/linen you could try dying them if they are in good condition?

fishing-girl

do you have any bankrupt fabric stores near to where you live, as these tend to have great fabric at cheap prices. there are a few around merseyside, not sure where you live.or another place to try is factory shops. i think there is a website that tells you what factory shops are in your area.

Seakay

Another option would be to turn the covers inside out and bind the seams with a matching or contrasting bias binding - either bought or home made.

Mrs_Thrify

I think most people would put throws over. Prehaps get a quote from the local rag for people who do this for a living. As for recovering yourself, prehaps look on fleabay for some cheep material.

timmmers

Indians and asians tend to make soft furnishings and clothes at home more than most, have you got any shops like theirs in your area ?

t

rosekitten

If the covers are just faded and are in good nick
have you thought about dying them in
the washing machine ?

I have a huge 3 seater settee it cost me around £49
in total to do it and I have to say it looked like a
brand new settee afterwards and still does look good.

the cover was in a very poor state
with kids,cat,dogs marks all over that would no longer
wash out,but the settee was still as sound as a bell
really comfy and roomy,just did not want to replace it
and the quotes for new covers were crazy.

The washing machine I had at the time only had a top
temprature of 60c yet it worked fine.I did mine navy
blue in three seperate washes in the machine
used the Dylon washing machine dye.

After I had done it I had visions of every one
having blue smudges over them,but its fine
its been washed umpteen times without
any runs also my washing machine was fine
after as well I thought that this would spoil
any washing I put in after but it washed as
if I had never had any dye in it,having done
this once would not hesitate to do it again.

gratefulforhelp_2

I echo this, if the fabric is suitable. Natural fabric works better than synthetic. Use the right amount of salt.

tandraig

I gave my son and DIL two sofas when i bought new leather ones.... with the throws i had been using . DIL wanted loose covers so she bought some lovely ones online - been trying to find the company name for you - they are american but reasonably priced. and they look fantastic. the fabric seems awfully thin but when on sofas look great. and they wash and dry great too. it worked out cheaper than buying fabric and getting someone to make up covers!
you may find them by googling sofa covers or loose covers ( or even loveseat covers - this is what the americans call the two seat sofas)

whizzing

Thanks so much for all the replies. I thought about dying them but they have very deep colours and are patterned, so I am not sure that would work? The loose covers have no pattern on the other side so I would have to dye them and do something with the joins. Some of the joints are not at edges where you could add a binding. I could pick them apart and sew them on the other side then dye them. I suppose that might work but it would be a lot of work especially if it didn't work out.

I live in Scotland and don't know of any places locally to go for material. I have tried looking on the internet but I need 40 metres and most of what is on the internet appears to be roll ends.

I am not keen to buy loose covers as they all seem to be different sizes and the couches I have seem particulary short across the way. I am off to have another look at them.

nanokitten

Dyeing should work fine on a dark pattern, you will probably just get the pattern coming through in different dark colours. It works the same way as mixing paint: a blue sofa + red dye will come out purple etc. dark colours work well with navy, black, brown, purple dark green. (imagine looking at the sofa through coloured glass, that is how the colours will come out). You can also by a pre dye from dyelon which strips most of the dye out to give you a pale base to dye.
What is more important is whether the fabric is natural or synthetic "Cotton, linen and viscose will dye to the full shade shown on the pack Mixtures of these with polyester will result in lighter shades Polyester, Nylon and other synthetics can not be dyed Wool and silk can be dyed with DYLON Hand Fabric Dye" see here for colours.

You could always buy one pack and dye a couple of the covers to see how they come out for a minimal cost (about a fiver) before you go to the expense of buying enough dye for the whole sofa or 40m of fabric. Fabric dye can often be bought cheaply from homebargains, wilko, boyes etc as well as the supermarket.

In terms of fabric, ebay or Abakhan are good places to start, 40m is an awful lot so I would message sellers (and even shops) to negotiate on price for a bulk buy.
let us know where about in scotland you are we might be able to tell you a good shop for fabric nearby.
It is also worth looking under your covers as strictly speaking the sofa should be fire retardent. this can be done by either buying FR fabric (normally a couple of quid more expensive per meter), having fabric sent off to be treated or using a FR interliner between foam and fabric. If you are gonna go to all that troble you may also wanna buy a can of scotchguard or similar (I wish I did this when I recovered my sofa as a visit from a small child and it's ruined!)