do you steam your chenille to remove the kinks from being wrapped on those cards?
No, I do not steam my chenille. I kink the rest of it by wrapping it around the hook.
Normand,
I’d never bothered to ‘steam’ chenille.
However, one evening I was going through a box of materials and found a package of chenille that had been sitting on the bottom of the box with a heavy tackle box full of lead sitting on it (I once thought that keeping all my old bass fishing lead would somehow be useful, eventually, to my fly tying…). Needles to say, it was pretty well mashed down.
Fired up the kettle, steamed it, and it was good as new.
Last and only time I’ve done it, though. Not sure it matters unless the chenille is somehow ‘crushed’.
Buddy
I saw a comparison of 2 flies, same pattern, side by side and the fly that was tied with the steamed chenille really looked a whole lot better than the one tied without steaming the chenille. I did not like it enough to have a steamer on my fly tying table, but, I did try something and now do it every time I use chenille. I discovered that before you wrap the hook with the chenille, if you twist the chenille a few times, like you twist a dubbing loop, the chenille will regain it’s shape and look as good as steaming it. You just grap the end of the chenille with your hackle pliers or electrical clip twist it a few times until you see a uniform shape the full length of the chenille and then wrap it on the hook shank.
i havent begun steaming mine but i plan on it once i get some spools to put it on
no steaming chenille here… I do steam feathers sometimes or hair if needed…
i usually buy skeins of chenille. kinks gone. 
Isn’t steaming chenille kind of like ironing underwear?
I doubt that the fish care if you steam the chenille. If you are entering the fly in a contest it might be worth the time to steam it.
I found steaming chenille that’s badly kinked helps provide a nice, uniform base if I’m winding hackle through it for wooly buggers.
Regards,
Scott
Kevin, that made me laugh!
I don’t steam chenille… the fish don’t care. I do give it a twist as was already mentioned. That does make a body look better and more uniform.
Zac
Yes, it makes the threads… or whatever they are called. Barbs… stand out better…e.i. at right angles to the core. Stems
Steaming most materials, especially hackles just before tying will almost always speed things up in the final tally, especially for beginners. Anything wrapped over the chenille as Bugman says will wrap more smoothly after steaming.
Fiddling with crimped chennile on a fly that just will not look good ends up eating a lot of time… Laying out hackle on a damp paper towel before starting a run has always made a real difference by the end of a batch of flies. Steaming just does it faster.
Golden pheasant crest plucked straight from the skin is always crooked, but a little steam and wrapping it around a pill bottle while warm produces a great topping in no time…
Everything is better with a little steam.
art
How do you keep the chenille steaming after you throw it in the water?
Just wondering.
Never hear dof anyone steaming chenille.
You have to be fishing the Firehole below Midway Geyser Basin (jk).
Regards,
Scott
I don’t always steam my chenille, but sometimes it was wound so tight around the card that it is not so easy to work with. When I do steam the chenille I will do all of the chenille on several cards at once. And then loosely wrap the chenille back on. I do not have to re-steam it later.
I tie several flies that use chenille only as the body with no hackle or other material on top. In this case I think that it does affect the profile of the fly a little bit, but only when the chenille is severely smashed.
Nope never tried steaming my chenille. Usually boil for a couple of minutes and then quickly into an ice bath to maintain its color. Then dress with a vinagrette dressing before serving, with a pinch of salt and some fresh cracked pepper.
Sorry I just couldn’t pass up a staight line like that. 
I usually pull taunt and then breath on it like I’m trying to fog up a mirror.
I’m with lastchance, aren’t we just going to get it wet anyway? just how I see it…
Kelly.
Sometimes I get steamed, but not the chenille.
Hi Normand,
Fifty-four years of fly tying and absolutely no chenille steaming. I’m ashamed! 8T 