Dyeing Blue-eared???

Hey everyone, I have a question for you. I'm about to purchase a blue-eared pheasant skin and was wondering about dyeing the feathers. I'm going to be purchasing veniards dyes but I've heard that you can't dye them in light colors...yellow, hot orange, etc., you can only dye them to dark colors. Is this true? Can I bleach them first and then dye them to the light colors? I know there has to be a way because you can buy them in all sorts of colors from fly shops. Thanks for all your help.

-- Shannon

Shannon,

Bleaching the feathers before dyeing to the lighter colors is the way to go, but with caution. You can do serious harm to the feathers by over bleaching. If you can find a copy of AK Best's book on bleaching and dying it's well wortth the investment.

REE

I'm with REE but... why buy a BE just to bleach/dye it?... just wondering:-)

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harry mason
[url=http://www.troutflies.com:69fbc]http://www.troutflies.com[/url:69fbc]

I don't want to bleach all the feathers but I do want to have some feathers with different colors other than the natural.

If you have not done so already, I would suggest that you look into reading AK Best's book "Dyeing and Bleaching Natural Fly Tying Materials". It is well written and will certainly help make your task easier and probably less expensive given the cost of a Blue-Eared Pheasant skin. Just a thought...

Jim Smith

Why not just get a white-eared pheasant? No need to bleach then. If you can't find any, contact Steve Thopmson, thompson.hackle@ns.sympatico.ca This might be an easier route, in case an error ruins an expensive skin. Jamie

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Tight Lines & Big Smiles
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