Budget couch refresh

[Teaandcakeordeath83]

Hi. We have an IKEA soderhamn couch in a turquoise colour. Bought it in bargain corner five years ago and hated the cover ever since. We can't afford to buy new covers yet from either IKEA or Bemz etc as they're at least £300 for the amount we need which is almost what we paid for the couch.

Anyway .. we're on a tight budget and the couch has to be sorted out. I'm looking at machine dyeing it. It's a cotton cover so I'm not too worried about if the dye will work. Has anyone dyed their IKEA couch covers? Does anyone have a recommended dye? I'm currently looking at the dylon machine pods in navy blue.

Alternatively has anyone painted their couch? I've seen tutorials for chalk paint and fabric dye painted on but am not sure of the longevity of the finish or if you can then wash the cushions afterwards.

Have you looked for cheaper covers on Etsy?

I dyed Habitat cotton sofa covers years ago, and the main problem was fitting them in the machine. So unless you have a commercial capacity washing machine, I'd look into having them dyed professionally. You could do cushion covers separately from seat covers etc of course, but you can't guarantee an even colour if they are done on different loads as the dye will take differently depending on the weight of fabric.

I'm deeply suspicious of the Instagram painting fabric trend, I can't see how it would wear well, let alone being able to wash them afterwards.