Hand dyeing felt

[belfastboy]

Amateur hour.

I am a very proud amateur. I think life is meant to be lived, experimented with and most of all by having fun. If I can pick up a hat for $30 and have hours of fun messing with it, even at the risk of screwing it up, then that is a win regardless of the outcome.
I appreciate the feedback so I at least can proceed with a modicum of information that may save me from a poor outcome but I shall proceed undeterred. .....proudly amateurish!

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Well said sir.

 

[belfastboy]

Well said sir.

I did purchase a very good quality dye and if I understand the instructions the water need not be on a boil when the immersion occurs. I may be emboldened to immerse the hat including the sweat. I am using a black dye diluted to get the light grey tone so am also hoping the immersion process does not take too long. A grand experiment. And if I fail miserably I always have the two hats ordered from Northwest Hats (arriving soon) to console my damaged spirits!

 

[RJR]

Good luck,please report on the outcome.

 

[moehawk]

I, being a proud amateur, have to stick up for amateur power!
If you have not begun the process I would have one more bit of advice. Before dyeing, wash the hat best you can in a premixed solution of woolite and warm water to remove any oils from handling and such to prevent blotches and uneven dyeing. Most dyeing instructions call for the item to be wet before immersion anyway, so this isn't much of an extra step.
Good luck!

 

[belfastboy]

I went to a fabric store and a very helpful young woman took pity on me as it was obvious I was in over my head. She was most helpful. She sold me a solution to prewash the hat to remove any oils etc and help the even absorption of the dye. I think there is something else in the bag......I think I may even have to read the instructions this time! I will keep you posted.

 

[DOGMAN]

I am a very proud amateur. I think life is meant to be lived, experimented with and most of all by having fun. If I can pick up a hat for $30 and have hours of fun messing with it, even at the risk of screwing it up, then that is a win regardless of the outcome.
I appreciate the feedback so I at least can proceed with a modicum of information that may save me from a poor outcome but I shall proceed undeterred. .....proudly amateurish!

I have been converting westerns for about 4 years now.I'm also a proud amateur and feel like you do.

 

[bond]

Belfast boy , the sweat needs to be removed both to get a proper dye job as well as if your going to have any luck blocking the hat after it's been dyed. Also I do not recommend cutting brim down until after dying /washing is completed as felt will shrink especially depends on temp of water.
Lastly you can ignore all advice given this far and make all the above mistakes and you will have learned your way finally
Good luck

 

[Lean'n'mean]

UPDATE:

Someone had kindly 'liked' this thread this morning, which jolted my memory as I had completely forgotten it. So, how's she doing ?........not bad at all actually. I won't lie & say I've worn the hat a lot because I haven't, it's seen some action during hot sunny afternoons this summer but above all, it has been soaked & steamed countless times as I've stretched it, re-stretched & shaped & re-shaped & re-re-shaped the thing. It may have faded a little, it's difficult to tell but it is still an even color with no blotchiness despite the treatment this poor hat has received & is definately still darker than it's original sand color.
Here are a few pics taken today.....it is a shade or two darker than on the pics.




I suppose the best description of the color would be 'Camel' or prehaps a 'light whiskey' not my favorites, so, walnut trees permitting, this autumn I'm planning to make up a more concentrated dye & hopefully give this hat a Caribbean tan....we shall see. Two things are sure though; firstly, the dye is really colorfast under normal conditons & secondly, the fur felt takes the dye evenly & deeply.

 

[belfastboy]

UPDATE:

Someone had kindly 'liked' this thread this morning, which jolted my memory as I had completely forgotten it. So, how's she doing ?........not bad at all actually. I won't lie & say I've worn the hat a lot because I haven't, it's seen some action during hot sunny afternoons this summer but above all, it has been soaked & steamed countless times as I've stretched it, re-stretched & shaped & re-shaped & re-re-shaped the thing. It may have faded a little, it's difficult to tell but it is still an even color with no blotchiness despite the treatment this poor hat has received & is definately still darker than it's original sand color.
Here are a few pics taken today.....it is a shade or two darker than on the pics.




I suppose the best description of the color would be 'Camel' or prehaps a 'light whiskey' not my favorites, so, walnut trees permitting, this autumn I'm planning to make up a more concentrated dye & hopefully give this hat a Caribbean tan....we shall see. Two things are sure though; firstly, the dye is really colorfast under normal conditons & secondly, the fur felt takes the dye evenly & deeply.

What dye did you use? My dye job turned out well. I used a good quality dye in a hot water solution. The hat body (sans sweat, liner and ribbon) came out like a blank felt. I reblocked and ironed the brim but then sent it out to Mike at NW Hats to complete. I wanted a pencil rolled raw brim but when Mike cut the brim he discovered that the dye had not fully penetrated so it left the cut brim with an Oreo cookie look....grey on each side with an even middle stripe of white. So we bound the brim. Mike did a great job and for about $100 total I have a new 8X beaver homburg sort of hat. I used a dilute black dye for a grey look but interestingly it came out a blue sort of steel grey. Nice colour but where the hell did the blue tones come from? It was a fun experience.
I placed one of Dogman's great liners in for the final touch.

 

[Michael A]

Lean'n'Mean: I just rain across this thread today for the first time. Nice job. I have just been thinking for the last few days about dyeing an old brown fur felt that has faded using butternuts for the dye. I've used them before on wool and it makes some great colors in the brown range. No mordant or fixative is needed for protein materials like wool, fur or leather. It is needed for cotton or linen and alum is the favored one I believe. Walnut and family are tannin containing dyes and that serves as the protein mordant. If some form of iron salts are added you will get black. That combo was a common writing ink in days of yore.

Michael

 

[Lean'n'mean]

What dye did you use?

The answer is in the first post of this thread.

I used a dilute black dye for a grey look but interestingly it came out a blue sort of steel grey. Nice colour but where the hell did the blue tones come from? It was a fun experience.

Commercial dyes are a mixture of colors & some colors are more colorfast than others & by diluting the dye, the blue may be stronger than the others in the mix. Red & green are extrememy colorfast which is why brown dyed objects often take on a reddish hue with time & black dyed objects often have a greenish tinge as they age, red being a major component of brown dye & green of black.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Lean'n'Mean: I just rain across this thread today for the first time. Nice job. I have just been thinking for the last few days about dyeing an old brown fur felt that has faded using butternuts for the dye. I've used them before on wool and it makes some great colors in the brown range. No mordant or fixative is needed for protein materials like wool, fur or leather. It is needed for cotton or linen and alum is the favored one I believe. Walnut and family are tannin containing dyes and that serves as the protein mordant. If some form of iron salts are added you will get black. That combo was a common writing ink in days of yore.

Michael

Mmmm, butternuts.....I'll have to look into that, sounds interesting.

 

[Blackthorn]

Beautiful job, Lean n Mean!