Wood Stained

[drowningmermaid.livejournal.com]

While staining a chair/bench/table thing I've been working on, I suppose I got a little overzealous. The can said to brush a coat on, let it set for 5-8 minutes and then to wipe it across the grain, then with the grain...

However, I THOUGHT it would be better to get a coat over the whole thing and THEN wipe it off, so it wouldn't overlap or whatever.

Well, at least a half hour went by on some areas, so when I tried to wipe it across the grain with a cloth, nothing really happened other than some stain getting on my cloth (no big deal, just a rag). But it didn't lighten it or let the grain show through or anything.

So now, I've got this really flat looking, dark mahogany stain on this bench thing and I've never worked with stain before.

What do I do?

It's intention is a time out chair for my kid, so it's going to have a lot of pretty pink dresses plopping their heinies onto it. I don't want the stain to actually stain her skin or clothes. I'm sure a clear varnish isn't a bad idea, but I don't have any (I thought I did).

The can of stain says to leave it to set for 3 hours or so before it's touched (it's been that long) but... I'm just concerned about my kid's clothes and stuff. I don't know what to do.

After the 3 hours, is it officially okay to sit on since it's dry?
Can I wash it or rinse it off with the hose to remove some of the stain and give it a more 'weathered' look (and then let it dry again)?

Staining it wasn't the last step I wanted to do.
I also wanted to put some paint (you know... COLOR) on the seat.
But now, I'm scared to touch the thing for fear of screwing it up.

So...
Help? Advice? Information?