How To Dye Feathers

How to Dye Feathers 

Well, can anyone tell this is my first time on camera :) I've spent a lot of time talking to all of you on the phone over the years and one of the common questions I get is, "how do I use the feather dye?" It really is quite easy, so I thought I'd make a video to show how its done. All the steps below are in the video, but its nice to have them written out as well. These are best when done with our Cushing Perfection Dye, but will work basically the same for any acid dye.

Once dyed, feathers are quite harmless, but the dye can contain some heavy metals that you don't want to contaminate any food. So take a trip down to your local thrift store to get the following before you start.

1 16qt stock pot, stainless steel or enamel

Stainless steel spoon 

1 or 2 hand towels

5 gallon plastic bucket. - Also available cheap from your local home store.

Safety glasses and some gloves will come in handy as well.

Fill your stockpot with enough tap water to cover the feathers and give them room to move around. Heat it to about 180 degrees, just below boiling. You can use a thermometer if you like, but the temp doesn't have to be exact.

While its heating fill the 5 gallon bucket with enough water to cover your feathers and give them some room to move around. Pour in a tablespoon of dish soap (dawn, ivory, etc) and mix it up. There should be a minimal amount of suds. Don't over do it on the soap. Put your feathers in and mix them around and let them soak until the water is hot. About 10 minutes. 

Lay out your towels and set up a blow dryer. For when you're done. Its much easier to do this now than when your hands are all wet. 

When the water is hot, pour in 1/2C white vinegar per gallon of water. You can't have too much vinegar. If you think you don't have enough, just add some more. Next add your dye. Our Cushing dye packets are enough to dye about 1/4lb of feathers so scale it down to match the quantity you are dyeing. Less dye and the feathers will be lighter, more and they will be darker. You can play around with the quantity to get the color you like. 

Now, add the soaked feathers to the stock pot and give them a good stir. Leave them in until they are about 2 shades darker than what you want. They'll lighten up as you dry them. Take them out and rinse them thoroughly in running tap water. You can even use a little dish soap to wash them. When they're totally clean, they're ready to dry.

Blow them dry while rubbing with a towel. The constant motion will keep them from sticking together. If you're dying a lot of feathers, you can put them inside an old pillowcase in the dryer on high. 

That's it. Enjoy.