question about RIT dye and feathers

[bbassi]

For those of you that dye your own with RIT, do you add anything to the dye like they suggest? also, how long do you let them sit in the dye? I'm experimenting.  

[Tom Leemans]

I use denatured alcohol instead of water and don't get it too diluted. They'll be some grit at the bottom but don't worry about that. Another thing I've done is dye them one color, then splatter them with a similar, darker color. I made some "retro" tie dye feathers that way.

[Keith Deters]

I use regular food coloring.  I add a spoonful of vinegar just like coloring Easter eggs.

[oldgriz]

Two things to remember when dying feathers... watch the heat and always add vinegar...
I have dyed more than my share of feathers when I tied trout flies commercially... and heat will curl a feather in a heart beat...

[bbassi]

does the vinegar help to set the color? The ones I did yesterday look good but I'm afraid they will bleed if they get wet.

[Dave Worden]

I've dyed a couple of sets of feathers and used water and vinegar.  They came out just fine EXCEPT some of them curled badly. Thanks to oldgriz, now I know why.  I did dye them after chopping to minimize the chances for splatter when taking them out of the dye.

[VTer]

I just add the dye to warm tap water in a clean glass mayonaise jar and shake well before adding feathers. Color determines how long you soak them. I've never had the color run with this method.

[fireman_3311]

I probably get mine too hot, but it works!!! Chop first, mix the RIT and water in a sauce pan...about 50-50...put the feathers in, heat until it steams good, but not yet boiling, and set off the burner!!! I let em cool enough to touch, then rinse some with the faucet sprayer, and lay on paper towels to dry...

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I heat the water Dye and vinegar bath to about Bath temp, if you like a really hot bath. I get good results but the colors are not terribly bright.  But it works okay.

[TXRED]

Have you checked out Herb Haines' thread on dying feathers & shafts in the 'How To' section?Haven't tried it myself yet,but I'm gonna.

[pseman]

I've tried the RIT and used similar methods as mentioned above. My results were fair with the colors not too bright. I have also tried dying with Kool-Aid and liked the colors much better. The Kool-Aid is cheap, easy to use, and comes in a wide variety of bright colors/flavors.