Name: Lynne
Message: Can velvet be tie dyed? Is there a way to do it with out disrupting the nap or a way to repair the nap of the fabric after dying? What type of dye and method would you recommend?

It all depends on the specific fabric. I've dyed silk/rayon velvet by direct application or low water immersion, both very similar to the technique of tie-dyeing, using soda ash and Procion MX type dye, with no problems at all. The nap of the fabric did not need to be repaired in any way.

Don't even bother to try dyeing polyester velvet, except possibly by making transfers with disperse dye and ironing them on. See "Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes".

Fabric paint on velvet, unlike dye, may glue the fibers of the pile together, since all fabric paints (including pigment 'dye', which is actually paint) include a glue-like binder to attach the pigments to the fiber.

What type of velvet are you considering dyeing? The actual fiber content is critical in deciding how, or even whether, to do this project.

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