FLYMPH FORUM

I posted this on the FB flymph group but since not everone is on FB I’m posting here too.In researching the Great Red Spinner, I noticed that Leisenring’s pattern is almost the same as Alfred Ronalds’. One difference is that Ronalds gives a dye recipe for the bright amber red hackle. While pondering how I might dye this color, I discovered that I had already dyed it on mohair using the same dyes as Ronalds. I’ve added a picture.

Oh, that is lovely dubbing. At first glance I thought it was seal dubbing. Beautifully translucency.

Did you every include that color in the mohair dubbing set you sell?

What can you tell us about the dying method?

Ray,
The color is one of the many ten gram tests that I made using mohair. The mohair is bleached. Rosborough wrote the bleaching give fibers translucence. This is what Ronalds says:

6. TO DYE FEATHERS VARIOUS SHADES OF RED, AMBER, AND BROWN.
First boil them in the alum mordant (see No.1); secondly, boil them in an infusion of fustick strong enough to bring them to a bright yellow (about a table spoonful to a pint of water), then boil them in a dye of mather, peach wood, or Brazilwood.To set the color, put a few drops of " dyer''s spirit,^'' (i. e. nitrate of tin combined with a small quantity of common salt,) which may be had from a silk dyer, into the last mentioned dye. Leisenring mentioned dyeing peacock herl magenta but doesn’t say which brand of dye to use. Cushing dyes were available in his day and still are.

Bill - Thank you for sharing. Very informative.