Can You Dye Velvet | A Complete Guide for DIY Project?

One day, my brother asked me if he could dye velvet or not. The primary reason for this question was the fabric’s special properties. Velvet is unlike any other fabric. As a result, velvet’s unique type and characteristics don’t lend themselves well to normal dyeing. As a result, one question always arises: can you dye velvet?

Typically, dyeing most fabrics is not that difficult. However, there is always confusion when it comes to the velvet fabric. In this article, we will discuss if you can dye velvet or not, so that your confusion would be cleared up.

What is Velvet?

Velvet is actually a special fabric type in which the cut threads are evenly distributed. In this woven and tufted fabric, you will get a distinctive soft feel due to the short dense pile among the cut threads. Surprisingly, the velvet was made from silk in past years. But, most people are using cotton and polyester to make velvet these days.

Sometimes you may see some different types of velvet fabric which are made with nylon. If you avoid thinking about the different raw materials, all types feel almost the same. Commonly, this type of fabric is used in textile applications like upholstery, intimate garments, and other clothing. Nowadays, many people are now using velvet in their furniture, shoes, and other materials to increase the look of the item.

What Velvet Products Can I Dye?

Dyeing velvet is not only possible; rather, you can take it pretty easy. Actually, velvet can easily soak up the color because of its compatible fibers. So, you don’t really need much effort to dye velvet.

Even if you are using velvet in your furniture, you don’t need to take it off to dye that furniture. However, you should follow different methods to dye in different conditions. So, it is obvious to understand the appropriate ways of dyeing different velvet materials. Now, we will show and explain to you what velvet materials you can dye.

1. Clothing

If your velvet dress is made using normal fibers, you can easily dye the dress using normal color dyeing. But, every velvet clothing won’t suit the usual color dyeing. If the clothing is made using any synthetic or polyester material, you will face difficulties dyeing such velvet. Usually, we don’t prefer dyeing in such conditions. However, you can use acid dyeing if the velvet is made using nylon.

2. Curtains

Dyeing velvet curtains is pretty simple. You’ll just need to dip the curtains into the color dye for some time. The curtains will automatically be dyed, eventually. When you want to use multi-colors or different designs, you can simply dye the color into the velvet curtains. Then, you should wet for some hours to dry the curtain fully and complete the dyeing process.

3. Cushions

You can dye your cushions in a similar way to dyeing the curtains. All you need to do is dip the cushions in color dye when you want to dye both the cushion covers and cushions. When you need to dye only one part, take off the cushion cover and dye the necessary part. Also, you can dip both parts separately if you wish to use different colors.

Sometimes cushion covers are permanently sewn with the cushions. In that case, you can use a sponge to color both the outside and inside parts of your cushion. However, using a sponge will require more time than dip dyeing.

4. Sofa

The dyeing process of a sofa may seem difficult as the velvet fabric is directly attached to the sofa. But, the reality is totally different. Dyeing a velvet sofa is one of the easiest dyeing tasks among velvet materials. Simply, you should just take a sponge and dip it into the color. Then, apply the color by pressing the sponge on the velvet. In this way. The colors will be soaked into the velvet and ready for drying.

5. Furniture

Using velvet in furniture has become a because of the fabric’s versatile characteristic. Specifically, you can dye furniture velvet using the same process as dyeing a sofa. Just use a sponge to press the colors into the velvet, and all things are done.

6. Yarn

How about dyeing the fiber before using it to make velvet clothing? Yes, you can dye velvet yarn before using them for production purposes. Simply soak the velvet yarn into the colors, and the inner part won’t be spoiled. In this way, you can store various colored yarn which can be used to make colorful velvet clothing.

7. Shoes

Most of the time, velvet shoes are not made using cotton fibers. Instead, nylon or synthetic fibers are popular for this type of velvet. So, you cannot use normal color dyeing in such velvet. With this in mind, use acid dye to color velvet shoes.

8. Different Materials

You may use other types of velvet materials which are not mentioned above. There is a simple mechanism to dye different materials. Firstly, you should know the type of fiber used in the velvet. If it’s cotton, you can simply soak the velvet into normal color dyeing. However, other velvets which are made with synthetic or polyester fiber are not suitable for these. So, you need acid or other dyes to dye such types of velvets.

What Dye Can I Use For Velvet?

We’ve already mentioned two major types of dye, called natural dye and acid dye. Mainly, natural dye is used for cotton velvet, and acid is suitable for polyester or synthetic velvet. Not to mention, there is another type of dye named Procion MX dye, which is actually an advanced acid dye. When you don’t know the type of your velvet, using this dye won’t do any harm. Because the Procion MX acid dye can match any kind of velvet.

Final Thoughts

People want to dye their velvet to make them more attractive. And, the fact of happiness is, you can easily dye the velvet according to the raw material type. If your velvet is made using cotton or such materials, you can use natural dye or a normal dyeing process. When the velvet is made from any synthetic fibers, you should use acid dyeing. However, you may not always know the velvet type, and using the Procion MX dye, in that case, can solve the problem.