Name: Eric
Message: I have a eggplant purple velvet slip cover to a foof chair(its like a bean bag chair but filled with soft foam). It can be machine washed on cold. I want to dye it black. Can I use the rit dye or is there a better type to use for this? Thank you for your help.

What fiber is your velvet slip cover made of? It is impossible to know what kind of dye to use, unless you know what fiber you have. The wrong kind of dye will simply wash out, or if unwashed will bleed onto clothing when the chair is used. (Dyed items must always be washed before use.) If your chair is not labeled as to the fiber content of its cover, contact Comfort Research and ask them what it is.

Polyester velvet can be dyed only with disperse dye, no other type; disperse dye requires extensive boiling, with a special carrier chemical, to dye it. Ultrasuede® is made of polyester, but velvet can be woven from almost any fiber.

Cotton velvet can be dyed in cool water with fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye; the cool water will help to prevent shrinkage, so the slipcover will still fit on the chair afterwards. For dyeing cotton a solid color, the easiest method is to use fiber reactive dye in the washing machine.

Cotton velvet can also be dyed in hot water with all-purpose dye, such as Rit® brand dye; however, since all-purpose dye requires a very hot dye bath (ideally 190 degrees Fahrenheit), it is likely to cause problems. The heat is apt to cause shrinkage, so that the slip cover will not fit back on to the chair. Moreover, it can be expensive to dedicate a large cooking pot to dye use only (since you must never use a pot that's been used for all-purpose dye again in the future for food); of course, there is the same problem with disperse dye.

Nylon velvet can be dyed black with Lanaset dye (also sold as Telana or Sabraset brand dye), or with any other dye intended for use on wool, including all-purpose dye, which contains acid dye as one of its components. However, these dyes do require heat, and again, shrinkage is a serious issue when dyeing slip covers.