One new dye and a couple of re-do's

[Fatman]

This is RIT Petal Pink on mallard flank feather and barred rock hackle

This is the Orange Kool-Aid - the first time I did them I had a piece of artic fox tail and it soaked up most of the color. These came out much better

This is the RIT Purple and still not as dark as I want but it will be a good color for two tones

 

[Bucko]

nice work! how messy is that?

 

[Fatman]

Bucko - not messy at all just make sure you have good tall glass jars that can take the high heat of the water.

The Kool-Aid is 2-3 packets, quart or less of water and a tablespoon of vinegar
The Rit Dye is 1/4th cup of the liquid dye and a quart of water

I put newspaper down on the counter and I do it right next to the sink. No matter which way you go wear rubber gloves. I bought my own wire mesh strainer just for dyeing feathers and fur.

 

[Jig Man]

:icon14::icon14:

 

[Kdog]

Fatman, Have you tried fresh red beets for a natural dye? I just finished helping the wife put up 32 quarts and am wondering when my fingers are gonna return to their original color. I was in charge of blanching and peeling so got plenty of exposure and can tell you that when to dip a dozzen beets in a pot of boiling water for 4 minutes that water really gets deep purple red color fast.

 

[Fatman]

K - never thought about that one. Buddy of mine on Sparsegreymatter fly tying site talked to me about using walnut husks for a dye and offered to send me some but said they are really messy.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

Nice work with the dyes. When I dye duck feathers I trim off the excess before I dye so I'm not dyeing the fluff and other parts I won't use. Looks like you trimmed the purple.

 

[Fatman]

Thanks Jim - yeah I thought taking the fuzz off would help as well as cutting the stem bottom. Getting some Fly Dye as they have Flourescant Blue, Green, Orange, Pink and Yellow. Then I might be done. Some of the RIT dyes don't seem to work well on feathers the Fuschia is one that didn't work well looks just like the petal pink.

Here's the Fly Dye color chart - looking at you tube video's on using it a little goes a long way!! Veniards Fly Dye color chart

Really wish I would have taken the chance long ago with dyeing feathers could have saved myself some money.

 

[toadfrog]

K - never thought about that one. Buddy of mine on Sparsegreymatter fly tying site talked to me about using walnut husks for a dye and offered to send me some but said they are really messy.

Polk berries , black berries,mulberries and a good no flowers will make dies . Some types of stone can be ground but I can't remember what my grandmother said they were .

 

[Hawnjigs]

True dat - berry stains on clothing are pretty permanent.

Dunno if it grows on the mainland, but turmeric (root) is an extremely sturdy yellow stain. Found out the hard way that it dyes fingers & nails for weeks surviving daily showers & hand washings. Also took months to wear off an aluminum ginger grater and garlic press.

I don't need em, but those are some nice eye candy colors Fatman.

 

[Fatman]

Thanks - I'm going to take some of the Pink Neon easter egg dyed feathers and put them through the RIT Purple dye and see if I can get the dark Purple I want. I'll post if it works.

 

[Fatman]

The pics aren't great - my camera has a problem with purple, might have the wife try taking a shot with her Iphone and see it that works. Here's the two best ones I could get. They are darker than what the photo's show

 

[StumpHunter]

Doug, that is a great looking deep purple.

 

[Fatman]

Thanks Stump that neon red I think really helped get them the dark purple I wanted. Now to get a camera that likes purple!!!

 

[Pup]

Those are really nice looking FM. Thanks for passing along your results. I have bags of flank feathers that may receive the same or similar treatment in the future, so your posts are informative and interesting to me. :icon14: :icon14: