Re: [VFB] Kool aid dying ?..yes on feathers

[Joyce Westphal]

Works great on feathers. Often, in tying salmon flies, one doesn't have golden pheasant for instance, or needs a red feather..so I dye one of those little hen necks with Kool Aid or rit and it works great..is a variation on the original fly, but works good (the trout don't seem to mind which feather is there..only that it gives action and contrast.). I do most of my dyeing in those little square disposable glad boxes that you can put a lid on..get it hot in the microwave, put the feathers in (having first washed them with dish soap and rinsed well. this seems to not only get out the grease, but change the surface tension so the dye soaks in more evenly. Be sure to get them wet clear down next to the skin if you want to use the filoplume parts as roughness when you make your own dubbings).  I use the instructions for wool fibers (and usually dye  a bit of alpaca or lamb's wool with the feathers so the colors will be the same and use this instead of  chenille on Prawns, woolly buggers, etc.  Put 3 packages of Kool Aid (more or less, depending on how bright you want the dye..have used up to 9 packages so it isn't necessarily cheaper than Rit,  for every cup put 2 ounces of vinegar and  6 ounces of water, put the wet and rinsed feathers and wet yarn into the little disposable glad dish. I heat the water/vinegar in the microwave, remembering that when you bring it out as it is boiling, you must be very careful as sometimes the water will rise up and can burn you..then stir in the Kool Aid..it will foam a lot. Then, when it is dissolved, pour it over the feathers, fur, yarn. Put the lid on and let it cool. When it is cooled, if the water is clear, you are finished. If not, put the wool/feathers/fur in the microwave again and heat for 1 minute, bring out..wait again and repeat as needed. Mostly I never have to do this more than 3 times. When you have clear fluid and the neck/saddle/yarn/fur is the color you want, then rinse under cold water..there will be some color come off on your hands, and then put between old towels or paper towels and let dry that way, or use your hair dryer and quickly dry.     A word of caution..wear old clothes, put newspapers on your kitchen counter and don't get the kool aid on it as even Clorox will NOT take it out..it is  very colorfast. Experiment with colors.     With Rit dye, do the same, but make a "working" solution first ( I use 1 cup of water with one package of powder dye) then put 1 tbs of working solution of dye with 1 cup of water, 1 tbs of vinegar and a tsp of salt. Usually need 2 cups of this solution for a full sized saddle, depending on the depth of the dish in which you are dying.     Also, remember, you can "overdye" with first one color and then another. Have fun. Joyce