Dyeing materials
Step-by-step

Step-by-step dyeing
by John Davies

Method for Dying:

Boil one litre (two pints) of water in a saucepan.
Add 1.25 ml or a quarter of a tea spoon of dye to the pan and stir until dissolved. (N.B. Black and other dark shades will require a stronger dyebath either twice or quadruple the normal strength)
Bring the dyebath to a simmer, then add 10ml of vinegar, which will cause the bath to boil. It has been noted that 92 degrees Centigrade has been suggested as the optimum dye bath temperature.
When the bath has stabilised, add the material to be dyed and keep it moving in the bath all of the time. Do not allow the bath to boil with materials in the bath, especially feathers.
Take the material out of the bath at regular intervals to examine the amount of dye penetration. Some material will need to be washed and dried with a hair dryer to assess the correct shade.
When correct shade has been reached, the material is then washed until no dye colour can be seen in the rinse water.

User comments

From: Leslie Iwai · l_iwai·at·hotmail.com
Submitted October 3rd 2007

Can this method be applied to swan feathers?

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