First attempt at dying a feather.

[DaveB 0]

After searching high and low for claret duck wing quills for my Bergman wet fly project I was reluctantly forced to dye the feather myself. Thanks to help and encouragement of fellow forum member RoberT who provided the mixture and clear easy instructions I think it was a success. A whole new set of options is open for me....now back to my wet flies. :yahoo:

 

[Knix 0]

wow, nice dye. Could you please share how you did it?

[Redwings1 0]

Great job Dave!

[James Daly 0]

DAS A NICE DYE JOB!!!! Good claret color. -Jamie

 

[Lbifisherman429 0]

Nice Job

 

you can also use the small kool aid sugar free packets to dye feathers

[-=TroutMaster=- 0]

wat was the recepie for dying???

[DaveB 0]

Sorry for my absence. The instructions are those of Robert T. He did the hard working of experimenting to get the colors rights.

 

This dye job was done with RIT dye. http://www.ritdye.com/Create+Custom+Color.9.lasso

 

Claret 2 parts wine, 1 part dk brown, 3 parts Scarlet RIT dye.

If you want a more purple claret, you could add a bit of purple dye, for a red-claret use less of the wine or purple color or add more red.

 

Insect Green 2 part Kelly green & 3 parts yellow RIT dye.

 

Cinnamon 3 parts tan & 1 part tangerine of RIT dye.

 

If you use the powder dye mix each color dye into a working solution. Store in 1 pint jars by dissolving the dye in warm water. I found glass better than a plastic bottle. The dye sticks to the plastic. I did this for tangerine.

 

Or you can buy the pre-mixed for a bit more money. I am lazy so I go for the pre-mixed.

 

Feathers (I used white) should first be washed in detergent and thoroughly rinsed prior to putting into the bath.

 

For a small batch of feathers (1-6 at a time) put about 1/2 inch of water in a large pot, add tablespoon of vinegar, and bring to just shy of a boil. If it gets to hot or boils it will ruin the feather.

 

Reduce the heat to the lowest setting on stove and add the dye in the proportions needed. It only takes about 1/2 ounce of each dye color to make the dye bath. I used a turkey baster from Wal-Mart marked with 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 fl oz. So for the claret it would be 1 fl oz wine, 1/2 fl oz dk brown, 1 1/2 fl oz Scarlet RIT dye. ***A variation to adding the dye straight from the RIT bottles and mixing in the pot as stated above is to pre-mix the RIT color in another bottle/jar so you have a bottle of claret dye and add that to the hot water. I did this by mistake but it turned out well.

 

Stir well then add feathers. Let them soak for 5-15 minutes (depends on the color and preference).

 

Rinse with luke warm water. The feather will look darker when wet. You can use a hairdryer to get a better idea of the color and dye longer if desired.

 

USE gloves and/or tweezers, salad tongs or chopsticks or end up with claret fingertips...like me.

 

It was quite easy. The day after I did the claret I did the insect green and cinnamon at the same time.

 

RIT is relatively inexpensive and you can experiment with the colors.

Jacquard is another acid dye. http://www.jacquardproducts.com/products/dyes/aciddye/

 

Other dyes that come in the colors for fly tiers are

http://www.organicdye.com/fproducts.asp

 

Veniard’s… Found them at http://www.compleatangler.biz/Materials/DyesCat.htm for $6.95

I have read mixed opinion on Veniard’s but for the price I may give it a try.

 

I tried the Kool-aid and was frustrated with color creation. It stains the fingers and kitchen worse than the RIT.

 

Good luck!