:?: Since I, my son, and Grandson, hunt for everything that is open; plus varmint calling; I have a bunch of hair, fur and feathers that I use for tying flies. Does anyone know what I should use to dye this hair, fur and feathers?
I am afraid that food coloring might bleed the colors out; (chumming? lol) and I don’t want to waste my time or material.
Any ideas would sure be welcome.
Thanks
Ken
Do a search on dyeing here on FAOL you’ll find all kinds of help.
Fatman
Can be pretty involved but also a hoot to mess around with. Expect a few absolute failures and you will be happy.
I know how to dye hair LOL. I have friends that swear by koolaide and vinegar. Say it doesn’t fade either. Never tried it my self. I just buy the color I want.
woodsman,
I have done a little dying of feathers and furs. Be sure and test dye a small amount first to make sure the color is what you are after. After rinsing and drying the materials will be a little lighter than when you take them out of the dye bath. If you plan on doing much of this I advise you to get a copy of “Dyeing and Bleaching Natural Fly-Tying Materials” by A. K. Best.
Steve
There is a fine line between dying and cooking. You will find it.
I have dyed deer hair using Rit dye and had some luck, at least for me. I never go over 170 degrees and have soaked for 2 hours without damaging the hair. Depending on the color, some did not have to be heated that long. If you are interested, send me a PM and I will give you my step by step methods. 
Not nearly as hard as I thought. It’s quit easy to dye fur and feathers using several products. Rit dyes, Kool-Aid or Vernaird (spelling?) dyes. I agree that A.K. Best’s book is an excellent and detailed ‘how to’, it’s worth the purchase price just for the color recipes.
I am not a production tyer and I want to dye in small batches, producing just enough for a dozen flies or so. It’s nice to be able to produce some grizzly hackle over dyed with green or yellow to tie up a few special bugs. The challenge in small dye batches in getting reproducable results. I tend to dye using 8 or 12 ounce drinking glasses heated in the microwave. At this quantity the measuring and mixing of colors is less accurate than it would be in large batches of a gallon or more. It’s just too hard to micro measure the dye.
I follow A.K.'s advice and use the RIT dye in liquid form (easier to measure than the powder.) I measure using an eye dropper from an old chemistry set. A set of primary colors and some trial and error mixing and I can almost any shade I need.
I fill a glass 2/3 full of water, add a pinch of table salt as a fixitive and heat it in the microwave to just below boiling. I remove the hot water, add the dye in single drops until I like the color. A drop of dye placed on a white paper towel will give you an idea of the final color. Then I add some fur or feathers. I stir the mix from time to time to make sure the color is evenly distrubuted. I check the color every few minutes, returning the material to the dye if I want it darker. I rinse the finished material in tap water and use a hair dryer to quick dry the finished product.
An 8 oz glass is big enough for a 3"x3" patch of deer hair or several dozen hackles. I have also had success dyeing the white rubber strands from inside a bungee cord.
Here is a link some color charts based on RIT dyes and unsweetened Kool-
Aid (to think I used to drink that stuff!)…
Mark me down as another big fan of AK’s book. If you want to pick up a copy you can go to Hamiltonbook.com where it’s available for $6.95. Great book at full price and an absolut esteal at $7.00. I highly recommend it.
Jim Smith
Go with AK’s book and follow directions carefully. Check results on a couple of small pieces of material first. I colored a lot of material with Rit dyes early in my fly tying career, but now I find it easier to buy material already dyed. 8T
Fantastic response friends.
Thank you all very much; I am going to buy the book recomended; and try most if not all of the suggestions placed here.
Again; my thanks to all.
Ken
dyeing step by step