Yes. That's what I was doing yesterday. Rit won't turn out as nice as Veniard's (an acid dye) but it's a quick and easy thing for me. I dyed some fine Ostrich black yesterday with the liquid Rit. I used a large aluminum pan on the stove with water, salt and vinegar. I was told by a good friend that the secret to dying was to use half water and half vinegar (Rit said to use salt so I used it also). It was the easiest dye job I've done yet. The feathers held all the black and took less than 30 seconds to rinse clear. I've been told black is one of the hardest colors to dye. I did have to leave the feathers in for almost an hour. Be careful not to burn the feathers, I really don't think the water has to be HOT. I turned mine completely off after half an hour and let them sit in it while it cooled. I don't know if I did this right but it worked for me and the black isn't rubbing off on my fingers or in water so I'm happy. I'm using these for Classic salmon flies so if they weren't perfect they would've hit the scrap pile. Remember to first wet your feathers with water before you immerse them in the dye bath if they're oily wash them in a gentle dish soap first (dawn or ivory). They need to be wet already to absorb the dye evenly. There is a gentleman on the list that works with dyes and materials for a living hopefully he will chime in. I experiment a lot... I use egg dye, koolaid and hair dyes but it's still experimental I don't know a lot about dying. It works or it doesn't. :) I've used Rit several times though. I hope this helped you. There is a web site on mixing Rit dyes also, check out google. Warm Regards, Deb
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, December 11, 2005 2:03 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [VFB] Dying Feathers Can anybody tell Me if I can dye feathers with "Rit" dye (For dying clothing). Or is there a special dye??? Thanks, Chuck
