Name: monica
Message: howdy:
how would i dye a pair of boots covered in some sort of fabric/fake suede stuff? i don't know what the fabric of the boots is made of since i don't own the boots yet...but it's something like fake suede or? also, you which of your books is the best for dye painting (if that is how i would dye boots)?

You must match the dye to the fiber content. What exactly, is the fake suede made of, and is it treated with any stain-resistant finishes that will also repel dye? This may be impossible to determine in advance, and yet it is critical to the procedure. If the synthetic suede is made of polyester, and lacks any repellant finishes, you could dye it by boiling the boots in a special dye made only for polyester - see Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes. However, this treatment would probably destroy the boots. There is a reason why shoemakers dye their materials before constructing the boots.

Fabric paint would be a better choice for coloring the boots, though it will never give the smooth, soft results that dye produces. Paint will make the material stiff and scratchy. The best fabric paints, such as Setacolor, Lumiere, and Neopaque, will do this much less than others. However, there is no guarantee that the results of painting your boots would be attractive. I would tend to recommend that you use this only to try to salvage boots that you would otherwise throw away; do not buy new synthetic boots with the intention of changing their color.

The only footwear for which I strongly recommend dyeing is that made of washable cotton canvas. The results can be spectacular.

I do not know of a book that addresses the question of applying fabric paint to synthetic suede.