Dying turkey feathers

[snag]

With what and how do you dye turkey feathers? Will Rite dye do a good job?

[TRAP]

I used rit dye on these.  added a little vinegar and let them soak all night before I ground the feathers

 

I've always used Rit Dye and it seems to work fine.

Trap

[J.Williams]

I just use plain ole food coloring,with a little white vinegar like "Trap."

[blacktailchaser]

this is a great topic..i have heard that you could use kool-aid.but i dont know how it works.john

[Bowspirit]

I just use heated Kool-Aid with a splash of vinegar...works pretty well...

[TRAP]

then let it cool and drink it    

I've heard that koolaid works well also but have never tried it.  I drain the liquid off of the feathers and put it in milk jugs so I can use it over and over again.  

Nothing beats natural barred turkey feathers.  Gotta love em.

Trap

[snag]

So you mix the color and the vinegar together to soak the feathers in? You don't soak in food coloring or kool aid THEN soak in vinegar? It would be nice to do it all in one soaking.....?

[TRAP]

I just used a gallon ice cream tub and added hot water to the powdered rit dye and then added a cup or so of vinegar, then added the feathers and stirred it for 10 minutes or so.

Then I filled a big coffee can up with water and set it on top of the feathers to keep them submerged and came back the next day and poured the liquid into a milk jug.

Rinsed the feathers in cold water untill the water ran clear and then I spread them out to dry.

Make sure they are really dry before you start grinding them unless you did that ahead of dying them.  A microwave oven can speed the drying process up considerably but better ask the wife first or wait till shes gone.

Trap

[BryanB]

Use a very concentrated mix of Kool Aid (very wide range of colors), then soak in vinegar.  After letting these dry I put them outside in the rain for a week to test the color fast.  These were the result after a week in the rain.
Bryan
 

[longstiks]

I use two packs of kool-aid and enough water to cover up the feathers, dissolve on the stove but don't boil it- remove from heat soak feathers with about 1/4 cup of vinegar for an hour and stir every once in a while. Rince in cold water then lay flat and dry between paper towels. I've done yeiiow and orange and they turn out good.
Denny

[longstiks]

oops I dotted my L's in yellow
Denny