I recently had to buy a new sofa after a burst pipe lead to the living room getting soaked and the sofa's getting damp and not drying out very well!!

I bought a second hand two-piece suite from a local second hand store. They were green in colour, faded and looking pretty shabby, but they were £40 for the pair so I couldn't really complain. And they had loose covers!

I went into Wilko's and bought 2 packets of Dylon Wash & Dye in Velvet Black. They cost £2.99 each (or there abouts). They didn't have anymore in stock!!

I wasn't sure if the sofa covers would dye but I thought I'd give it a go. The back of the packs give you all the information you need.

Empty the packet of dye straight into the drum, put the dry fabric in, then run the machine on a 40 degree cotton cycle with no pre-wash or economy setting. When that is done add your normal washing powder and run the machine again, dry fabric as normal.

I split the covers up equally and set about dying them, I didn't intend on using the back cushions that came with the sofa's but then decided it looked silly with the giant cushions I used on my old sofa!! I dried them off in the tumble dryer on a low setting and rather than be the deep black that I expected they came out an antique grey colour!!

the reason for this being that there was too much fabric in the machine for the dye to take properly, you are given a guide on the back of the packs.

I bought some more in Home Bargains and dyed the covers two at a time and they are now black... really dark black. I like it!!

I do however have a cream leather being delivered tomorrow, I ordered it when my old ones had to go, but had to wait for a delivery!! I wish I hadn't bothered now, as I really like these sofas. But I expect I'll much prefer my new one when it comes!!

If you are unsure as to whether the fabric you want to dye will dye there's a list on the back of the packs which tells you.....

Cotton, linen, viscose will dye to the full shade.
Polyester/cotton & polyester/viscose mixes will dye to a lighter shade.
Wool, silk, polyester, acrylic, nylon & fabric with special finishes, e.g. 'dry clean only' cannot be dyed.

Colour mixing rules apply. e.g. black on red gives burgundy, patterned fabric will often still show through.

It does say that dyeing may not cover stains, faded areas or bleach marks, but it covered all the marks on the sofa covers I dyed.

If any dye is left in the machine after use you are recommended to run the machine on a 40 degree cycle, with a cup of bleach added to the drum and your usual amount of detergent in the drawer, this will get rid of it.

I just run it on an economy wash with detergent and this was fine for me.

I would recommend Dylon dyes as they do what they are meant to do.

The packs I bought had 400g of loose powder not the solid little block ones, they didn't have any available but there was literally a 3p price difference anyway.