I hate to throw anything away. I’d probably be a hoarder but watching all those hoarder shows on TLC has scared me into keeping my house at a light clutter. Which is probably for the best. I’d hate to have Stella go ‘missing’ one day, only to find her years later squashed flat under a pile of boxes. The point is, if something can be saved from the trash heap AND save us from spending money on a new one I’m all in.

A couple years ago my boyfriend had purchased a Poäng armchair with a natural cushion cover from IKEA at an amazingly good price. This has since been his gaming chair. A VERY well used piece of furniture. Lately it’s been looking quite dirty and sad. He suggested buying a new cushion or *gasp* a new chair! I knew there had to be a better, cheaper solution. I’ve had a box of black Rit dye for years and here was the perfect opportunity to use it.

Before dye – After dye was applied – Post rinsing and machine washed

With my sister’s help we twisted up the cover of the chair and tied it tight with twine. The cover is cotton so it made a good canvas for dye. I mostly followed the directions on the box, but because I only had one box of dye and didn’t want to wait to get a new one the next day, I used more hot water then was directed to fully soak it all.

The part that took the longest was rinsing out the dye. We had to use a lot of water to get it all out and did it in the bathtub. If you know of a more environmentally friendly way to dye, please let me know in the comments.

This was a fun, quick project. I didn’t have high expectations going in, as this was my first time using Rit dye, but the chair cover turned out better then expected. My boyfriend loves it! Using two boxes of dye, as directed, would probably have resulted in a darker color, but I am still pleased with this last minute project.

conclusion

This tie dyed chair is cat tested, gaming boyfriend approved!