This post on dying will cover some details and notes for materials that were not covered in Part 2.
Feather Quills - these are very easy to dye I use schlappen (tail) feathers as well as the larger feathers from capes and saddles to strip for the quills. By hand stripping the quills before dying as opposed to chemical (bleach) stripping there is no need to soak the quills prior use after they have been dyed. It is the chemical stripping that causes the quills to become brittle, thus requiring soaking before use. Capes and Saddles: When selecting feathers to test the dye batch. It should be noted that if same times and dye bath is used. The feathers that have a lot of web will accept dye easier and will come out darker than the stiffer barbed feathers. Hair and Fur: Finer hair will accept dye faster than that which has coarse hairs. This will affect the times required to dye. When dying some tanned hide you may find that the hide will soften and become partly gelatinous paste. Some of this will come off during rinsing and the remainder will harden again when dyed. Try to keep as much of this hide material out of the hair when rinsing. Also note that with this method that the hide will be somewhat hard after drying. May require 2-3 days to dry completely. If dye is added to strengthen a bath. It is advisable to remove the material being dyed before adding the dye. This is to avoid getting a concentration of dye on one area of the material that may result in a darker colored spot on the material when finished. This is especially applies when you are using the Veniard dyes as they are more concentrated. Mix the added dye and that return the material for further processing. Dyes may be mixed to make different colors. If dyes are mixed, use the same brand of dye as there are differences in the make up and strengths of dyes from different brands. This difference between brands may have an effect on the dye results. If you change dye brands, the amount of dye used and process times may need to be adjusted.
