Types of Feathers

[briarjumper12]

I tried dying turkey feathers with Kool-Aid last year.  They floated in the Kool-Aid for over a week. I thought at some point they'd saturate and sink but they didn't.  Also, they didn't take any coloring. BUT, once I forced them to sink in the solution with a weighted screen wire.  They changed color on the white, barred portion of the feather.  Red Kool-Aid made pink feathers and the green came out lime colored.

All this is to say turkey feathers can be dyed.  And they are pretty darn water proof.

Put feathers in sink with Dawn dishwashing liquid. Swirl em around a little while you are bringing your kool aid to a boil.  Turn of the heat and dump in a cup or two of white vineqar. Then put in your feathers and let them sit for a few minutes while swirling em around occasionaly to make sure they all soak up some dye.  The vineagar is the key, it sets the dye and makes it permament.

[hedgeapple]

No I didn't degrease the feathers or use boiling/ warm water with the Kool-aid.  I did us a high concentration of the stuf though.

[bowtarist]

I've also heard to use alcohol instead of water to dye feathers with kool-aid.  my two cents, dpg