My late mother-in-law made beautiful velvet Christmas dresses for my girls 30 years ago. I would like my granddaughter to wear one, but they are discolored. Can't tell if it's dirt from hanging in the closet or an actual permanent color change. No fabric care ticket, of course. I don't know if it's washable or can be dry cleaned. I removed the lace collar and am soaking separately. Here is a photo of the discoloration. Anyone have this problem?
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Your best bet is to mix up a dye that matches and apply with a small brush.
This is a complicated process and if the velvet material that was used in your dress contains any synthetic fibers it is impossible to dye this dress. I'm not sure how you'll be able to check the fiber count of this dress.
You'll need to wash the dress first, but don't dry it. The dress needs to be wet in order to dye it again.
You need to put a soak pot on your stove and fill it with water. Make sure the dress can fit into this pot and easily move around.
Now mix 1 cup of hot water with an acid dye powder. You'll need to read the label and find out how much dye to use for this dress and the amount of water that is in your pot.
As the pot is heating add the dissolved dye to the pot. Make sure the dye is mixed completely in the water before adding the wet dress to the pot.
Now heat the pot until it is 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Afterwards, you'll add 1/4 cup of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of citric acid powder for each 1 pound of the dress in the pot.
Your pot needs to remain at 185 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on how dark you want your fabric. During the dying process, you'll need to stir the dress in the water.
When the dress is the color you want it, remove from the pot and rinse in warm water. Now wash the dress and use a cold water rinse in your machine.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I was reluctant to wash it because I am not sure that the velvet will fluff up again. At this point, though, I have nothing to lose, since it is unwearable as is. I already removed lithe white lace collar and trim.
I would use a Rit dye and color the dress.
You could also try a permanent marker that matches the colour of the dress.
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