DIY barred rabbit strips

[kengore]

The previous threads about making zonker cutters and color remover have inspired me. I'm thinking about buying some whole rabbit hides and dyeing up various colored zonker strips.

Does anyone know how to get the barred color patterns Ive seen in some of the commercial products? I've got lots of experiance playing with dye, I just need to know how they get the stripe pattern. I'm guessing it's done with some sort of string wrap or rubber band like tie dyed fabric.

[sheldon]

I don't know how to dye bars, but a large marker works well for me.

[ducksterman]

Kengore...see my other thread...never mind I'll find the link or just repost. I don't think anyone answered...maybe you can address my questions about no heat dyeing...and intensity of color.
I don't think the demo really shows barred but more two tone .

[kengore]

Ducksterman, I saw your previous post and followed the links. The videos showing cold water dying and bleaching (color remover) of rabbit hide are what sparked my interest in trying a 'barred' pattern.

Rabbit seems to take dye a lot better than most stuff, so the cold dye might not be a problem. I think the cold water dye would just take more time than the hot water bath.

If I recall your original post you wanted to know if the cold water method would solve the problem of rabbit strips getting stiff after sitting in the hot water dye bath. I think any wetting of the rabbit hide will cause it to get stiff when it dries. I've noticed this on bunny leaches and zonkers that have been fished, the tails get stiff when they dry out. No problem, the get supple very quickly when they go back into the water. Research I have done on the tanning proccess seems to indicate that the soft supple texture of a hide comes from the 'breaking' proccess. Hides are taned, dyed and dried. The stiff hide is then 'broken' by a rubbing over a corner of a board until soft.

I've used RIT and Kool-Aid in hot water baths for dyeing small batches (3 cups or less). I have not tried the cold water methods. Rabbit seems to take the color quickly, in 5-10 minutes. Other materials such as hackle feathers might need 20 minutes to an hour. Some colors like a really intense red or orange are harder to achieve, these might need to sit for several hours of soaking. Black is very difficult, I have not been able to get a really good black from any of my dye experiments, more like a dark grey with blueish undertones.

Based on advice from others I have started adding some detergent to the dye bath (409 spray or powdered laundry detergent) to act as a surfactant. This seems to increase the intensity of colors and increase the rate of dye transfer, especially for oil rich water fowl feathers like mallard flank. I get a brighter red or orange with Kool-Aid than I do with RIT. Without the detergent the mallard would come out as a pastel shade, not the intense deep color I was trying for.

[ducksterman]

For some reason my previous post copy and paste didn't come through....for those who didn't see it here is the YouTube link to "Dyeing Rabbit Hair" part I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dgnj...eature=related

[Dub]

Kengore,

"Black is very difficult, I have not been able to get a really good black from any of my dye experiments, more like a dark grey with blueish undertones."

To get a better Black, you should try dyeing the fur brown first. After the brown is dyed, drained and squeezed, then place the material in a bath of Black dye. Another alternative to get Black is to use any of the brands of hair dyes gotten at a beauticians supply store. I use the least expensive stuff and I think it's Miss Clairol. You can get the 'kit' or buy the dye and developer(20 or 30%) separately.

Dub

[Mike-Connor]

This was a reply to a question on cold dyes from somebody else. It should be of help to you.

Ordinary Dylon works well for most things, and is available worldwide;

http://www.dyeproservices.com/DYLON%...20PRODUCTS.htm

https://dylon.dyeproservices.com/index.php?cat=2

Here are the colours etc, they are also miscible to produce others;
http://www.dyeproservices.com/dylon_cold_water.htm

http://www.dyeproservices.com/CW%20f...r%20charts.JPG

A lot of supermarkets and similar outlets carry it in smaller sizes for dyeing of textiles. Or you can order it on line from lots of places.

There are direct links to this on my site ( from the main dyeing page).
http://www.mike1.bplaced.net/Wikka/Dyeing


Here is a PDF file with simple instructions;
http://www.dyeproservices.com/PDF/DY...structions.pdf

here is an instructional video on using these dyes;
http://www.dyeproservices.com/video/CWVideo/

Here is a PDF file for "troubleshooting" and various info;
http://www.dyeproservices.com/Pdf/Troubleshooting.pdf

FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR DYEING WOOL for most fly-dressing materials, using hot tap water. The instructions are clear and precise. Some natural materials tend to come out a lighter shade. Use more dye.

If you use cold water as for cotton, silk, etc, the shades may be lighter. As given in the instructions, vinegar works better for many materials.

Run tests before you commit expensive materials! Once you have done it a couple of times, it is quite easy and results are consistent. Don?t buy big pots of dye unless you want to dye a hundred T-shirts!!!!!!

For dyeing a single cape for instance, only a small amount of dye is required. The DRY WEIGHT of the material to be dyed determines how much dye you need. Doesn?t matter if you use a little more and may help to get the right shade. If you use too little, the shade may be too pale. ( Unless you want a pale shade!).

The source I have given here is for America, Google will give you other sources. When you ask for sources for stuff like this, you have to tell me where you are from!

OTHER SOURCES http://www.dyeproservices.com/links.htm

the 5g ( 5ml) packages of dye will dye a great deal of fly-dressing material and cost about $3.00 If you get the introductory kits, you also get salt etc.

This place has it on offer for 99 cents;

http://www.wardrobesupplies.com/stor...ylon_cold.html

Rit and similar dyes are multi-purpose multi-component dyes which will not give good results in cold water, and hot dyeing rabbit and other skins hardens the skins too much, making them unsuitable for purpsoes like zonker strips etc.

I will add some more info on dyeing in another thread.

TL
MC

[chewydog]

Black is very difficult, I have not been able to get a really good black from any of my dye experiments, more like a dark grey with blueish undertones.

Sounds like some of the older gals at Walmart.
Sorry. However, somewhere in there is a name for a new fly.