Dyeing sofa covers - removing colour...with bleach?

[ann_of_loxley]

I have these horrid terracotta coloured sofa covers. They are horrid because our carpet is wine red - so they don't go! They are unused - so are the 'spare' set...but our current set has seen the last of its days. I am hoping to save money and not have to buy a new sofa - but just make sure that these sofa covers are a better colour than they currently are!

Dylon pre-dye - which is for removing colour seems to work okay. But it hasn't removed enough for me to feel that it is okay to then dye them - I am going for beige. As the carpet is already dark, I do not feel that dark sofa covers will work.

So - I was wondering if I could further use bleach for these covers (they are cotton) and how much I would need to use in the washing machine for them to do the job? They don't need to be white - just a bit lighter than they are! They are sorta a darker buttercream once the pre-dye has been used. I have never used bleach before so have no idea what I am doing! lol

Any advice/tips would be greatly appreciated! - TIA

[ma2maya]

Hmmm...I have a bleach phobia and don't really use it much. I have never used it as a part of my 'creative process'.

My one concern for you in your situation is that the amount of bleach and the time needed for the cover to sit in the solution will be harmful to the actual fiber. The other concern is if the bleaching will be splotchy, causing uneven dyeing. Is it possible to by a yard of similar fabric and do a test?

If you do decide to go ahead with the bleaching, you will need to neutralize the bleach at the end of the process. Oxyclean would do this.

Sorry I couldn't be of much more help.

[ann_of_loxley]

I suppose I really should just continue to stay way from bleach lol