Dying Bright Colours

[Brennan]

I understand it is hard to dye a cape a very bright colour. I know that I should start off with a 'near white' cape as possible. I was wondering what about light blue dun? I need a yellow and orange cock cape, while there is none on eBay, there are a few light coloured ones.

Any other tips on dying bright colours?

Cheers,
Brennan

[Albannach cuileag]

Use the search facility to look for postings on dyeing by Midlander. He posted an excellent step by step on dyeing and it is well worth reading.

In fact, here it is Dyeing

Another by Mike Connor -Dyeing 2

TLs

[midlander]

If you're looking for bright there's no real alternative to cream/white. Light blue and light grey dun will inevitably dull or "dirty" the shade.

You can produce some very interesting shades using light duns or light gingers but they won't be as vibrant as white based shades. At a pinch I'd go for palest ginger for yellow or orange but not duns.

Probably not the answer you were looking for, sorry.

Post withdrawn

[Geoff Cherrett]

Hi Brennan,
you need to expand your thread a wee bit. What kind of cape/saddle are you after dyeing?

Much will depend on your budget of course and ideally you would need White to achieve the brightness you seek.

Bleaching is a possibility if you get a subject that's, at best, cream and with a little care a good White can be got without any ill effect on the cape.

Where bright fluorescent colours are concerned it's a good idea to start off using small amounts as too much dye can actually mask the fluorescent effect.

One poster mentioned marker pens which I feel is an acceptible alternative especially if budget dictates what you can do. All I would say on this is you do need a good a white to achieve bright colurs and the subject matter must be free from any grease or else your efforts will be in vain.

One last point, you must use a spirit based marker and a printer/stationer is a good place to start, there's no need to spend fortunes on them which would defeat the economy aspect of this particular exercise.

Good luck.