To mix different Dylon machine colours together?

[ArriettyJones]

Will it work?

I want a dark raspberry pink, or laugh pinkish red. I have some noxes of the claret red, but that will be too dark. I will need to use multiple pods anyway as it’s for sofa covers (heavy load), so I was wondering if I could use a mix of claret red and flamingo pink. Will it mix evenly together?

“Light pinkish red”, not “laugh pinkish red”.

Should be be ok. What are the covers made of? Some fabrics won’t dye well.

I think that it will be fine to mix colours.
However, I'd be wary of dying such large items, it may come out patchy.

They’re pure cotton covers @daisypond and they’re cheap IKEA loose cover Extorp sofas anyway, so if there is a complete the disaster, replacement covers are available. Obviously I’d rather not duck it up.

As pp asked, what are they made of? Are they cotton? Cotton dyes well, but if the stitching isn't cotton (which it rarely is) it won't take the dye, so you will have a contrast there.

Sorry! Cross posted.
Well worth a try.

@ElizabethMainwaring

I think that it will be fine to mix colours. However, I'd be wary of dying such large items, it may come out patchy.

It’s the white, two seater version of this @ElizabethMainwaring I already keep red cotton throws on them because of the moulting dogs. Obviously the seat and back cushions are smaller items to dye, but the bits that show most of the time are the side aspects beneath the arms.

Do you think it’s a no go, then?

I’ve never dyed anything bigger than a table cloth, and it’s actually two x two seater sofas, so I’m not quite sure what I’m getting into. It’s probably four loads (doing cushion covers from each sofa as a separate load from the main cover), two cycles per load and a final 90 degree empty load to clean the machine.

So nine cycles total, a whole day and a lot of drying.

Sorry. X posted again @ElizabethMainwaring

Sod it. I’ll try it at the weekend and let you know how I get on.

Hello again.
I'd split it into multiple loads.
If there's too much in the machine it won't get the necessary coverage.
A while back I dyed a few t-shirts and a denim jacket (so not a huge load by any stretch) and the jacket came out patchy.
It may have been that it was quite stiff material so it didn't get the necessary agitation.
I'd definitely give it a go though if I were you.

Yet another cross post!

I'm thinking of dyeing an Ikea sofa cover soon so interested to see how it turns out, good luck op!

At least we seem to agree, which is encouraging.

@hellswelshy I will let you know.

They’re pure cotton covers @daisypond and they’re cheap IKEA loose cover Extorp sofas anyway, so if there is a complete the disaster, replacement covers are available.

Just check they still make those cheap white ones first. I had a feeling they’d stopped selling them and only had pricier versions. I could be wrong of course.

Ignore me, I must have dreamed it! Cheap covers on the website as usual

You’re giving me ideas though...

You’re giving me ideas though...

Nothing you can hold me legally liable for!

Idye do dyes for polyester but if you were careful, could you ink over any visible stitching with a fabric pen of the nearest matching colour?

Mixing dyes does work, I’ve done it before, back then they had sachets rather than pods. I think I mixed orange and claret as I wanted a tomato red and it worked beautifully.

The one thing I wonder is whether different pieces are going to have different depth of colour? You’d have to try to make sure each load weighs roughly the same. Otherwise your cushion might end up more saturated than your bigger pieces. But an ombré look might be quite nice too?

Lastly, I’m quite lax and would probably not do a 90 degree empty wash after every piece as that’s more about cleaning your machine out so your white socks don’t turn pink.
I’d do that right at the end.

Hope it works!

I dyed our ektorp covers red and they came out fine. However I used the claret red - about three boxes for the cover and another 3 for the cushion covers. And it came out red not claret so be careful with amounts etc. But they were even and the machine cleaned up fine.

Eventually we just bought a new red cover from Ikea (total waste as the cat went for it).

Good luck!

@ArriettyJones

You’re giving me ideas though...

Nothing you can hold me legally liable for!

it’s OK, as I say I’ve double-checked the availability of replacement covers!

How big is your machine OP?

@Arrowcat

I dyed our ektorp covers red and they came out fine. However I used the claret red - about three boxes for the cover and another 3 for the cushion covers. And it came out red not claret so be careful with amounts etc. But they were even and the machine cleaned up fine.

Eventually we just bought a new red cover from Ikea (total waste as the cat went for it).

Good luck!

Oh thanks! That is helpful.

Unfortunately red covers don’t seem to be available from IKEA ATM (only shades of griege or a very campy 50s black-based floral), probably just as well if they enrage pets!

How big is your machine OP?

8kg

I died my sofa covers , smoke grey
Smaller sofas than yours , 5 cushion covers in the machine at a time , and 1 pod of Dylan ( and a tea towel and dish cloth that were left in by accident )
Worked like a dream
I didn't think about mixing the colours ..... as smoke grey ( whilst lovely ) wasn't the colour I really wanted
It was a Next wicker sofa , with cream , heavy cotton cushions that had faded in the sun

I am doubtful whether flamingo pink will be sufficiently pale to counteract the depth of pigment in the claret to the extent you might expect.
But I love a dye experiment, so good luck ! 🍀🍀🙏