Tie-Dye Fun

My mom picked up a set of director's chairs from Savers the other day specifically for me to redo. Isn't that sweet?! She knows me all too well.  But in my excitement to get started, I failed to take a good before picture. I really should know better. The best I can show you is this:

So you can't really see the top of the chair, and you can just see part of a leg from the other chair... These two chairs are twins and are in great shape, unlike my previous director chair makeover. These twins just need a little funkifying. And I have a tie-dye kit, picked up when on major-markdown, in my arsenal of redo supplies just waiting to be used.

It has been a long time since I have tie-dyed anything. I had fun twisting the fabric into knots, not knowing what the finished look would be. But I think I was the only one having fun. Paris was upset that I was not playing with her and the squeaky squirrel:

Next I added the dye to the fabric. And even with gloves, my fingertips turned a pretty purple color. Then I covered the dyed knots in plastic wrap to let them set overnight.

The next day I unwrapped the knots and cut the rubber bands. The patterns are defined and bright. I love it!

However, after washing in hot water like the directions called for, the fabric looks muted. It isn't bad, just not as good as pre-wash. And since the fabric looks a little pale, I think the wood on the chairs needs to be a bright color now. Enter a little blue spray paint. Fast forward past the boring dry time and here are the twins in their new funky-state:

So that's my free and fun tie-dye director chair makeover. Super easy too! Anybody have any great tips for tie-dyeing? How do you keep the pattern bold and bright?