The Trash to Treasure Forum has instructions on painting fabric cushions. They will tell you to use regular latex paint and say it works great. I dont know if this can be used for outdoor furniture as well, but it may be worth a little research. Good luck

Heartzlink, I would call the manufactor and see what they have to say.
And then again there is always 'The shaby chic look' LOL

Hugs, Carmen
I hope you find a solution.:o)

Funny you should post this now. A long-time friend I met through GardenWeb was just telling me how she salvaged an upholstered dinette set by dyeing the fabric of the cushions. She used fabric dye and when she was finished, she said she received a ton of unsolicited compliments. She said the cushions ended up looking like Monet paintings. (Prior to dyeing them, they were stained and could not be cleaned.) Her name is Grittymitts on GardenWeb.--Her actual name is Suzi, and she is wonderful. You might e-mail her.--However, I do know she's had computer problems recently. She's working to fix them. Laura

I know you can paint the cushions as the other GJers have said, but you can also cover them with fabric. I'm not talking about sewing covers for them, I just buy inexpensive fabric and cut squares to fit the cushions leaving enough to wrap the cushion like a big present and safety pin it on the back. I do this on my front porch because I like to change them with the seasons and because my cats rule the front porch. I've found that the fabric will last several years before I have to buy new. And I can just put the covers in the washer whenever they need it.

Heartz,
Are you certain it is just fading? The reason I ask is that my umbrellas (made with canvas material) not only fade but the fabric starts disintergrating over time. By about 4-5 years the fabric will rot off leaving holes at the top and where it connects to the umbrella itself. I've never tried painting mine...I have two used patio umbrellas that I use now as trellis (I ripped off the old fabric to leave a skeleton of an umbrella)...and just replaced with new (and cheaper) patio umbrellas. If they ARE canvas I'm thinking that painting them will give them more a resiliancy---and harder to fade quality to them.
Lte us know what you come up with!
Love, Jules

Fabric paint, fabric paint pens. I have some cushions that i love that got permanently dirty on one side on my front porch. I'd like to hear more about the dying if anyone finds out.
I don't know if that might fade also. I bought some uv protector (not scotch guard) for some window covers I made for my living room. Just a suggestion for new or refurbished items.

As Redthistle said above, I did dye upholstered chairs to my dinette set BUT used a hot iron on Haitian cotton fabric to set the dye out of horror at the thought someone might spill a drink & walk away with a floral pattern on their bottom!

I suggest fabric paint along with one of the softener/extenders found with the paint. Not being close to having artistic talent, I poured dye on disposable plastic plates & with kitchen sponges cut in different shapes, I dipped & daubed spots on fabric. (Some colors were diluted to show less intense shades.) Regular paint may work on umbrellas but cushions will be very stiff, & cracks will appear in a short time.

As my attempt progressed, I had some serious doubts about what I had done. Doubts grew when DH came home & saw big blotches of dark blue all over chair cushions, front & back of chairbacks. The shock on his face was as sincere as his question when he asked if I'd lost my MIND!
He later said he never believed such a mess could possibly turned out so well& thought sure he'd be hauling them to the dumpster on a dark night. It's been nearly 15 years since they got their makeover & now 23+ yrs old most used one is tearing on front edges of seat.

Professionals wouldn't touch them for fear of ruining them so decided not much was lost if it didn't work. (Lesson learned was never to buy Haitian Cotton anything.) I'd stand back to look 'em over, daub a few spots here 'n there, add few more colors until I thought they looked OK.
It took a good part of a weekend & we didn't use them for a few days to be sure they were well dried.

If you hate them, before throwing them away ya' might as well try. Let us know, and GOOD LUCK!

Suzi

I have panted mine with latex I waterd it down some .They have been out side for years no problems .I love playing with pant and I did three dif colors did it in sripe .Love them.Walmart has our door fab it is real good .Had the about 3 yearsno fadig.

Hey THanks so much to all of you for your contributions..... I think I will try the latex watered down....seems that nanatricia has had good luck ..... my fear is that if I start off with fabric paints and extenders that I will soon have invested what it would take to replace the cushions anyway, lol....not sure about dying in the traditional sense because it would mean dunking the cushion that may take weeks to dry inside...but the daubing method may work well...since all of mine are in different venues and do not necessarily need to match, I may try some of each method and report back in the Spring with some results....thanks again for all your input, I knew if I could get answers anywhere, it would be here...

I'm very curious to see if this works for you.... with this method, its very possible that ANY fabric can become outdoor fabric.
I've always wanted to do throw pillows on my deck, but never wanted to pay for the outdoor fabric.