Secrets Of Colored Feathers

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Lovers of home decor and handicrafts will certainly be interested in working with such an original and pleasant material as feathers. You can make commemorative pens from them, decorate photo frames with them, or just put them in a vase. But colored feathers will look even more interesting. So how do you paint them? It turns out there is a whole technology

Feathers are dyed by a branch of the art of dyeing. But there are also peoples with a not very developed industry, in which such a color is produced at home. So why don't we try it too?

We sort and clean

First of all, the feathers are thoroughly cleaned and bleached. Without this, it is impossible to achieve the desired color. During cleansing, they are freed from all existing fatty substances. To do this, they are soaked in a special soap solution. In such a warm bath, the feathers lie until the soap completely disappears, after which they are washed well in warm water.

But above all, the feathers are sorted. This is done to separate the smaller material from the larger material. The larger the feather, the correspondingly more fatty substances on it, so it will take longer to degrease it. Thus, the sorted feathers are placed in different baths, at different intervals.

Decoloration is carried out using sulfurous acid, which is obtained by burning sulfur. After they have gone through the bleaching process, the feathers are washed again in clean water and dried. The feathers are now fully prepared for the further dyeing process.

Depending on what color is required, you need to prepare a certain mixture for coloring:

- for black - take copper, vitriol, alum and a decoction of blue sandalwood, diluted in a water bath;

- for lilac - need alum, indigo carmine or litmus;

- for yellow - lead sugar mixed with sodium chromic acid or arman with potash lye;

- for green - indigo solution mixed with picric acid;

- for blue - you need to mix indigo with alum or iron oxide;

- for red - you need a decoction of the Brazilian tree or carmine.

The beauty of aniline dyes

Feathers in red, blue, blue and violet colors are often painted with aniline dyes. They are well absorbed by feathers, as well as silk and wool. For coloring, first of all, a solution is prepared, where the feathers are dipped. The dye bath must be warmed up.

On sale you can often find powder aniline paints. For high-quality coloring, very few of them are needed. The paint is dissolved in alcohol, and then in water. It is an environmentally friendly raw material extracted from plants, so it is safe for health.

Application features

If continuous coloring is necessary, then the paint is diluted in an aqueous solution. Sometimes its consistency resembles dough. For the solution, soft water is needed, hard water will only ruin everything. Often, glycerin, acetic acid and alcohol are used instead.

To prepare the solution, water is mixed with an artificial dye. The amount of paint in relation to the liquid is taken depending on the recipe. Before making a large amount of paint, it is advisable to prepare a test solution in a small container, for example, in a glass. A test color is necessary to ensure that the optimum shade is obtained.

A large volume of this solution is prepared in a metal, preferably copper, boiler. It is necessary to lower the feathers in a container that is not too heated. If you put them in boiling water, they will be damaged.

Dye and curl

In addition to the fact that feathers are colored, they often curl, making them even more beautiful. Feather fiber, strongly pressed against a sharp and smooth edge, or to the thumb, should be slowly pulled, thereby twisting it. This can be seen in the example of a hair stretched through closed fingers: instead of straightening, it is twisted into a spiral. The feather is based on the same hairs. To curl feathers, a bone or horn knife is most often used. But it is worth noting that for such work it is necessary to have certain skills, then it will be done quickly.