Since this velvet was originally clothing it will most likely wash nicely.
I also have found that upholstery velvet washed and dried beautifully. Even pieces several yards long. I found that I could only do one really long piece at a time in the dryer if I wanted to have it come out dry and not wadded up. The shorter pieces (3 yards or less) I could put two or three in at a time. This fabric is 100% cotton and sort of looks like canvas on the back. It is used for table draping as well as like curtains on our booths at Faires. At this point it has been washed either three or four times. Do have to be sure to clean the lint trap after each load (and in the case of one of the really long pieces, half way through ). Love this fabric!