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wubbiebear Apr 22, 2011

I have a weird bear I want to do.  I'm going to donate a bear to an auction to raise money for my old high school.  Their colors are blue and gold, so I was going to do one side of the bear blue and the other side gold.  My local fabric store has faux fur, but they don't have unusual colors and I really hate shopping online because I like to feel the fabric before I buy it.  I already have some white fur cut out into about five bears, so I was going to try to dye the fur the appropriate colors.  How do you go about doing this, especially when you can't see what you're doing?

Clarebear Apr 23, 2011

There are many ways to do it.  Maybe the easiest way would be to dissolve a couple of sachets of Kool Aid in some warm water and plenty of salt.  I use two sachets to get the intensity of colour and only enough water to cover the pieces.  I would use fray stop or something first  as I find fabric tends to fray more when it has been wet.  Leave them in the water for a few hours and then hang them out to dry.  If you use enough salt the colour shouldn't come out too much.  Once they have dried then I would rinse them (if you rinse them before drying you lose a lot of colour).  Good Luck with it.

wubbiebear Apr 23, 2011

How do you get the color you want if you can't see it?

Fallenrose Apr 23, 2011

Maybe there is someone nearby you that could assisst you?

Clarebear Apr 23, 2011

Got me there!

desertmountainbear Apr 23, 2011

I do not know where you are Wubbie Bear or what type of fur you are using, if it is mohair of synthetic.  If there is an art store near you you may want to take your color swatches there and see if someone can help you match the colors and lead you to the right dye.  They can also give you good directions on how to use it.
If you are in the United States you may want to call the RIT dye company.  They have an online color finder with formulas for every color under the sun.  Maybe you could find their phone number explain what you want and someone there can help you order the right combination of dyes to get your desired results.  They could also give you exact instructions on how much to use.

Here is a link to that color finder, maybe it can help you http://www.ritdye.com/colorit_color_formula_guide

Joanne

wubbiebear Apr 23, 2011

I think I may ask my preacher's wife for assistance, as she does crafts and she has eyeballs.

KJ Lyons Apr 24, 2011

I dye faux fur all the time. First, it has to be a very high quality faux fur, if the fur has a lot of nylon (less expensive fur) it will be almost impossible to color. With high quality faux fur I use India Ink and sponge dye the fur. It's great for strong colors and the fur will still be soft.
Karen

wubbiebear Apr 25, 2011

I'm not sure how high quality my fur is because I get what they have at the fabric store and my husband and I both are on disability, so I have to be as economical as possible.