How to Dye Feathers
You can dye feathers for crafts projects or to make your own fashion statements. Dying feathers is a challenge because you cannot boil them. They need to be dyed at room temperature for the best results. The following steps will show you the best way to dye feathers at room temperature with acid dyes.
Things You'll Need
- Rubber gloves
- Goggles
- Boiling water
- 1 tsp. of PRO WashFast Acid Dye
- ½ cup of rubbing alcohol
- Feathers
- Wax paper
Instructions
-
-
1
Wear rubber gloves to avoid skin contact with the dye mixture. Wear goggles to avoid any of the mixture getting into your eyes which could cause eye injury.
-
2
Boil a small amount of water for the dye mixture.
-
-
3
Dissolve 1 tsp. of PRO WashFast Acid Dye in the color of your choice into 1 or 2 tsp. of the boiling water.
-
4
Add more hot water after the acid dye is dissolved. You'll need to add enough to make ½ cup of dye. Allow the mixture to cool at room temperature.
-
5
Add ½ cup of rubbing alcohol or denatured alcohol. Mix with a metal spoon.
-
6
Dip a light-colored or white feather into the mixture. Let the feather sit in the mixture as long as it takes to get to the desired color.
-
7
Set the feathers on wax paper and let them air dry.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
The color of the feather will look darker when it is wet and it will get lighter as it dries.
To store the acid dye mixture, put it in glass containers or jars with tight-fitting lids.
Dip the feather in one color and then dip it into another color to make different color variations.
If the feather is too dark, you can't lighten it. However you can re-soak a feather that isn't dark enough. You are better off to be safe and make the feather too light than to get it too dark.
Resources
More Like This
Comments
View all 6 Comments-
Hi Mindy! Would you be able to give me specific instructions on how you dye the feathers? I would really appreciate it! You sound like you know what you are doing and I am at a loss. I am trying to use Rit dye...is that the wrong kind?? Please help!!
-
Do I need to bleach dark feathers first. I have a bunch of black and I am wanting to do other colors.
-
The best way to penetrate the feather is to wash them with a soft cleanser such as "woolite" first in warm water rinse and drop them in wet. It helps break down the natural water repelent that feathers naturaly have. I wouldn't recomend drying them on wax paper becouse some feathers may sit in a dye puddle longer than others and get uneven dying. I always dry mine in a 220deg oven ontop of a papertowel which really fluffs them up or on a counter ontop of a paper towel. And if you are ussing an acid dye don't forget to add the vinegar. Good luck all I use jaquard dyes they are awesome!
-
charlio44
Oct 07, 2010
I'm putting together a costume for Halloween but it's impossible to get costume wings where one wing is black and the other white. So I was just wondering if you still get good results from painting the dye on, or if it has to soak. -
Dennis Sigala
Sep 21, 2010
Wow, Great work, I have been working on dyeing white turkey feathers with Pro_chemicals Wash Fast Acid Dyes, And was having problems with penatrating the back of the feather web, I see the addition of Alcohol may help this? So it seems like it works, Do you still use steam afterwards to set the dye as Pro-Chemicals states> or does the alcohol do this, what prompted you to add alcohol? Great Work! I will post my findings. As dying feathers to simulate Eagle feathers is top secret among 2 companies that are doing it Sioux Specialites, And Reallegal feathers. They have great looking feathers. And painting ruins the feather as you cannot preen them back together unlike dyes. Thanks for sharing, This really helps Dennis Sigala
