Thread: Dying velvet = a bad idea?

Hello all,

I recently bought a lovely velvet trumpet skirt here. It's beautifully made and fits me well, but I don't love the color on me now that I've got it here. It's a pale yellowish green, and I was thinking I'd like to deepen up the color a bit, make it more of a true green.

Have any of you had success in dying velvet before? What sort of dye should I get? Any other tips and tricks?

Thanks!
Khalisah

I would ask a tailor. Either that or get a piece of velvet at a fabric store and experiment on your own. But I get a little skittish on doing those things!

Frequently Asked Questions About Dyeing (and related issues)
I haven't dyed velvet. A lot would depend on what the fiber content of the velvet is though. Is it a stretch velvet, silk velvet, etc... This website has lots of good info that maybe you can find some answers. Good luck :)

As Shannon noted, you need to know the fiber content of your skirt before you can dye it. If the skirt is made of a 4-way stretch fabric, it very likely has lycra in it, and if that's the case, I would not try to dye it.

If your skirt does not have a content label, you may be in trouble trying to determine the fiber. You could snip off a little bit from a hem allowance and try a burn test, but you may only be able to tell that the skirt is a synthetic fiber vs. natural.

You don't want to fly blind on dyeing unless you truly don't care if the item is ruined.

If it is a natural material, such as a cotton or silk, you probably will have a good success in dyeing it. If it is a synthetic, forget it... and given that it is a stretch velvet, it likely is mostly if not all synthetic. Don't do it without serious and careful research unless you want it ruined. I consider myself to be adept at dyeing fabrics, and would not touch dyeing a synthetic without a lot of research.

Dharmatrading.com is a great resource for dyeing fabrics. They have many nice tutorials online as well as a one-stop-shop for your materials (they do have competitive prices.)

Here is something I just found with a google search... and I can assume that acrylic could easily be substituted with polyester and other materials.

Dyeing Acrylic with Basic Dye

You know what could be fun instead, though... try painting with fabric paints on it. Maybe do a sort of artistic pattern with it, or just do some abstract stuff... add some deep green touches to it that way. Fabric paints will sit fine on top of velvets, though you may have to touch them up from time to time in places that get stretched a lot.

Oooh... I just bought some black stretch velvet on sale the other day.. I might be inspired on a new project. I don't have a trumpet skirt yet. :)

you can dye synthetic fabric, you just need a different kind of dye- for natural fibers, I like procion fiber reactive dyes. Dharma Trading Co. Homepage has both the procion dyes and dyes for synthetic fabrics- but if this is a first time project, you either want to experiment first or go into it knowing it may not turn out. dying is definitely a skill you have to learn with the particular materials you are using.

I don't have a label, but it's a 4-way stretch velvet, and I'm pretty sure it's poly. I have extra fabric with it, so I can do some dye tests. Looks like it's time for me to finally get around to trying dharma trading co's dyes instead of just using RIT.

Originally Posted by khalisah

I don't have a label, but it's a 4-way stretch velvet, and I'm pretty sure it's poly. I have extra fabric with it, so I can do some dye tests. Looks like it's time for me to finally get around to trying dharma trading co's dyes instead of just using RIT.

Oh, you won't regret it- the world explodes with possibilities when you get into the more versatile, reliable dyes (& ones where the colors don't fade so much!) but beware, it's kind of like BD- it sucks you in & eats all your spare cash if you aren't careful!

Try it and let us know how it goes. I keep thinking about it and reading but haven't taken the plunge yet.

Many synthetic fabrics won't take dyes (or only very reluctantly). I would check into iDyes, which are formulated to be used in the washing machine and there is a variety that is intended to target synthetics.

Originally Posted by khalisah

I don't have a label, but it's a 4-way stretch velvet, and I'm pretty sure it's poly. I have extra fabric with it, so I can do some dye tests. Looks like it's time for me to finally get around to trying dharma trading co's dyes instead of just using RIT.

If you think it's poly AND spandex... you may be in trouble. You'd have to simmer it on the stove with something like iDye Poly... and that would destroy the spandex.

If no spandex, then you should be safe. But iDye Poly doesn't come in too many colors, unfortunately. You might have to look for another disperse dye.

I had a few more minutes this time so searched the site for stretch velvet and came up with this...
dyeing velvet of unknown fiber content

You might want to call Dharma and talk with them-they can recommend a product that should work. One of my friends dyes lycra & stretch velvet for skating and she uses a variety of their products. You should get a piece of stretch velvet (or something fairly similar to your skirt) and practice on that first. Just remember, you cannot go lighter, and any shade variations may show in the final product.

Let us know how it works out (pics) when you do this-I'm envisioning a really nice intense color! (i'm tempted to do this myself with an older skating dress, just to re-new it)

Hmm, I can't imagine that a stretch velvet doesn't have spandex in it. If you can only dye poly by heating it, and spandex can't survive the heat, maybe this isn't such a good idea.

Dying Velvet ...........great name for a band :)