Dying quills and the overdying tinting process
The following video short provides a brief, step-by-step guide on how to over-dye to achieve a beautiful, warm black mid-tone for midge bodies. Many of my followers have been asking how I achieve this color. Here's how I do it. I hope you enjoy it!
Click on the above video to see a quick short
I attended Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, for four years back in the late eighties. My painting instructor always told us that black is a “living color,” meaning there are colors that bring black depth and richness. Alizarin crimson, viridian, and indigo create life, depth, and chroma to black. Black is a chromatic color, and the variables are infinite. In the insect world, this is very true with beetles, midges, and many terrestrials like crickets. Quills are a mainstay for me, and I use them every single day for orders ranging from midges, caddis, mayfly emergers, and even my dragonfly patterns.
So, let's get started. First, we are using an over-dyeing process. Overdying begins with a base color that sets the tone for the color applied on top of it; think of it as an underlying filter.
Fig. 1 Essentials
For dying to warm insect black, I choose three Ritt dyes, Cardinal, Cocoa Brown, and Black.
We need:
2-3 tbs. of white vinegar
1 cooking thermometer
1 saucepan
8 cups of water
2 tbs. of Ritt Cardinal Red
2 tbs. of Ritt Cocoa Brown
Mix these ingredients to 150 degrees
Fig. 2 Quill preparation
1~I'm just using two bundles of stripped hackle quills from a rooster
(I bleach my own, so I get a nice, strong quill, not over-bleached.)
2. I wind copper wire around the bundles to hold them together during the dye bath process
I also connect a heavier gauge wire to the butts, allowing me to fashion a hook over the edge of the saucepan. This way, you do not have to fish out the quills in a hot pan.
Fig. 3: Heat up the first dye bath of Cardinal Red and Cocoa Brown
fig. 4
After leaving the quills in the 150-degree dye bath for 10-12 minutes, dunk them in cold water for 30 seconds. This acts as a dye stop and fixes the dye.
Dry them off with paper towels and set aside while you mix your black dye bath.
Your quills should be a deep, beautiful coral color.
Last Step:
Mix in 2-3 tablespoons of Ritt Black into your hot sauce pan.
Submerge your coral-colored quills in the new black dye bath at 150 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
Remove them from the dye, and submerge under cold water for 30 seconds to a minute.
Dry them on a paper towel for 24 hours before tying them or storing them in a zip-lock bag.
Remember, colors of the insect world have a lot of depth and nuances, so using your own tinting recipes is extremely useful in creating one-of-a-kind flies.
Thanks for letting me share~ Clint bova
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