Who out there dyes their turkey feathers? Any tips or pics you can show me.

This is food dye coloring(koolaid) cherry    , blue   :D  razzyberry, and   :cool:  orange,        ) any dye will work heat gets the dye in the feather vinger makes it perminate  

I was about to ask
this same question a few days ago...  

Exactly the same as bldtrailer. Very good description of the process. Make sure to swipe the glue edge of the feather with denatured alcohol to get residue off before glueing. Good luck.

BOB

I do mine the same as bldtrler but dont wash them after the soap, just take from soap to dye.

Do they fade faster than commercial dye?

I use RIT dye, which I think is for clothing.  Found in the soap and detergent section of most grocery stores.  Powerful stuff and I use no preparation prior to soaking feathers.

No fade yet(they just don't smell like cherry/ razzberry after a few weeks) I forgot to add, I sand the quill before glueing to arrow (or all that will stick is the dye)

Thanks for everyone's help

Just a few of mine sane method as bldtrlr

Great thread guys!  What type of dye works best to get the bright yellow like Stixbowdrew has in his pic? Thanks!

Alright last question on this. I'm going to use Rit dye. What size container should I use with the 2 tsp of vinegar

I used rit dye for the yellow looked orange when i put the feathers in but they came out perfect! I use two parts water to one part vinegar works good for me

I'm loving that yellow...  

X 2 on the RIT Dye.  It wont look like what you want when you mix the dye with the water but the feathers come out great.

Not to disparage commercial dyes or Kool-aid, but does anyone have some interesting primitive/natural dye methods to share?

Gonna give it a whirl after work.  

@ArrowAtomik:
The French wrote all their fabric color recipes down in a book starting about 1700. The idea was to get more consistent colors for the fabric trade. You may be able to find excerpts online?

For a yellow, boiled osage orange shavings should work. Basically all colors which work for quillwork should also work on feathers fine.
There are artists who do it all with natural colors.

QuoteOriginally posted by Cyclic-Rivers:
X 2 on the RIT Dye.  It wont look like what you want when you mix the dye with the water but the feathers come out great.

What is your process using the rit dye? I'm getting ready to dye some soon.

I am not sure where I got my dye - think it was either Great Northern or Three Rivers.  They send me a small packet with about a teaspoon of powder.  Heat a gallon of water in a enamal dish pan and put in the dye.  Bring to a rolling boil then insert feathers for 1 minute.  Take out and let them dry.  Pour cooled remaining liquid into a glass gallon jug and store for next time.  Reheat to rolling boil again and insert feathers.  A gallon will dye a huge amount of feathers.  The colors are a lot sharper and crisper than the koolaid or right dye.  They do not fade of come off on your hands when working with the dried feathers.