richmce 0 Report post Posted December 8, 2022 i have a huge bag of long hair wool on the hide,scraps from a coat and rug company . ive heard of using koolaid, food coloring and rit dye . i have alot of white and would like more yellow, brown green and black . pieces are 4x8inch what works best? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niveker 0 Report post Posted December 8, 2022 I've got about 7 bucktails sitting in my freezer waiting to be dyed, so looking forward to some answers to you question. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverCreek 0 Report post Posted December 8, 2022 https://globalflyfisher.com/tie-better/dyeing-material https://www.theflyfishingforum.com/forums/index.php?threads/koolaid-dying.305491/ Koolaid color chart. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richmce 0 Report post Posted December 8, 2022 like the chart but is it missing a line of colors i like the green, gray 5th and 6th down on the right Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cphubert 0 Report post Posted December 8, 2022 I've never dyed wool but suspect unless it was commercially tanned you may have an issue with the lanolin, still cleaning degreasing (soap & water soak) I have only used Rit and Jacquard Acid Dyes (white vinegar for acid) but would not know where to start a recipe (amount of dye, water, temperature, and soak time) for wool. I will say that most recipes blend more than one color of dye to achieve results and I almost never have been able to repeat the same exact color twice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richmce 0 Report post Posted December 9, 2022 i picked up rit dye and will get some kool aid tomorrow hope to test both of them in the evening .and will report back. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt Bob LeMay 0 Report post Posted December 9, 2022 The reason I quit dyeing my own materials is simply the difficulty in being able to get the same color time after time… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niveker 0 Report post Posted December 9, 2022 Another Kool-Aid dye chart at this site: Kool-Aid Color Dye Chart Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cphubert 0 Report post Posted December 10, 2022 On 12/7/2022 at 10:58 PM, richmce said: black rich the best black is usually overdyed from dark brown or dark red (my experience) never tried Kool-Aid waiting to see results. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richmce 0 Report post Posted December 10, 2022 tried 3 batches all with white long wool 3x3 patches . 1st was 2cups of hotwater with 1/2pack of yellow rit powder definitey yellower tips are darker but that may change when dried. also added a white bucktail. was in the pie tin for 40 mins. bucktail is not as yellow as wool 2nd was 2 cups of hot water and 3 caps of liquid rit in gray t stirred for 40 min nice medium gray ,tips darker i liked this the best 3rd was 2cups of hot water and two full packs of kool aid in grape and black cherry. same timein solution but didnt cover the middle and base of fibers tips were ok i will wait till they are all dried and combed out to make my final decision. i will try sharpie or prismcolor markers saturday Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richmce 0 Report post Posted December 11, 2022 m ore comments after drying overnight i brushed them out as they were twisted and tangled. brushed with toothbrush,velcro and plastic comb. no matter what i used it came out frizzled. fibers feel softer. tried using prismcolor markers on new white fibers seems to work nice.i think the dyed fibers may work better on smaller crappie size flies and jigs . i will tie several up and see how they do when they get wet again. the rit liquid did turn out best colorwise, koolaid the worst and it also smelled like black cherry. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richmce 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2022 tested them again monday the fuzzed out flies do go backto the straighter shape when wet. and they dry that way too.did notice that once they got wet they sank slow but after another cast you had to wait again for it to sink. sounds like some weight is needed flies colored with a prismcolor marker stayed vivid. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niveker 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2022 Thanks for all the updates, looks like I'll be picking up some RIT dye in the near future. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richmce 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2022 the liquid ,not powder Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
USMCflyt1r 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2022 Just my two cents, but the best dye for protein fibers (animal fur and feathers) is either Veniard dyes (specially blended for tying materials and no mixing to get the right color) or Dharma Acid dye. make sure you get the wool clean and natural oils are off (synthropol or dawn). Acid dye requires heat and a fixative such as citric acid or vinegar. You’ll find both easily in the grocery store. Citric acid doesn’t leave a smell. You only need a small amount of the dye pigment to get your desired color. If you want bright colors (hot orange or chartreuse) you need higher heat. Not that Koolaid or Rit are bad dye mediums, my experience has been they bleed out their color when fished. Especially blues and reds. feel free to contact me if you want to get in depth. Semper Fidelis Jim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites