Name: Barbaran
Message: I dye shoes! Over the years the fabrics and their make-up has deteriorated and I am finding some dyes that I have used previously no longer have the same effect. Could you please advise me as to the best dye to use on DUCHESS satin? I really would appreciate it

The problem is your fabric. Duchess brand satin is woven from polyester. If it were possible still to get shoes made with silk satin, dyeing them would be extremely easy, but instead you are stuck with difficult-to-dye polyester. See "Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes". It seems unlikely that shoes would survive being boiled with polyester dye for an hour, nor can you put them in a heat transfer press as you can a t-shirt.

You may not need to dye the shoes to color them, however. It may be possible to paint them, instead. Dye molecules bond directly to the fiber, but paint is a combination of coloring plus a glue. Since most paints are not opaque, it is still important to begin with white shoes. Fabric paint will result in a smoother, softer surface than ordinary diluted artists' acrylics, but the latter might work, since stiffness is to be expected in shoes. Be sure to experiment first with shoes of no value. If artists' acrylics are not suitable, you may wish to try fabric paint. A good source for special fabric paints is Dharma Trading Company. Be sure to call and ask your retailer whether the fabric paint you intend to buy will work on polyester. Dharma Pigment "Dye", which is actually a fabric paint, not a dye, is reputed to work on polyester. I haven't tried it myself, though, so I cannot report on how satisfactory it may be.