The disclosure is of apparatus and its use to treat textiles with fluids such as dyes, resist chemicals and like agents. The apparatus is particularly useful for space-dyeing textiles such as skeins of textile yarn. The apparatus comprises an enclosure having an opening and defining a treatment chamber, a closure, means for introducing predetermined measures of the treating agent and means for compressing the textile within the treatment chamber. By the method of the invention, textiles are disposed in the treatment chamber and compressed. While compressed, the fluid agent is uniformly dispersed under pressure in portions of the interior of the body of the compressed yarn and in a proportion just sufficient to effect the desired treatment. The apparatus and method of the invention are more efficient than prior art methods and apparatus, reduce water requirements and reduce the potentially undesirable impact of a textile treating process on the environment.