the self condensation of an aminocarboxylic acid illustrative of these polyamide resins are nylon 6 6 prepared by the condensation of hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid nylon 6 prepared by the self condensation of epsilonamino caproic acid or caprolactum as well as a variety of polymers prepared from polymerized dibasic acids and polyamine compounds the preferred fibers are nylon 6 nylon 6 6 and wool blends with either of these two nylons the fiber degrading composition of the process is applied to the pile fabrics in order to produce the desired sculptured effect the fiber degrading composition contains a fiber degrading agent as the primary active component of the composition for purposes of discussion herein the term u201c fiber degrading composition u201d may be defined as any active chemical compound or composition which when applied to the pile fabric causes that portion of the pile to which it has been applied to become brittle or to realize substantial reduction in strength without actually dissolving the fiber as a result the degraded portion of the pile can be removed at a later stage in the process by conventional mechanical means the composition should be capable of being substantially removed from the pile or at least neutralized in subsequent sculpturing steps it should also be capable of increasing the affinity of the fibers in the sculptured areas for dye applied following the sculpturing step the fiber degrading agent should be present in the fiber.