Dyeing mohair:
STOVE TOP METHOD - Tea Dyeing (for light blonde)
1. In your stove top pot boil 8 cups of water, take off the heat and then add 4 family size tea bags (more if darker color is desired).
2. Let steep for 20 minutes until tea is very strong and dark colored.
3. Remove the tea bags and add mohair to the hot strong tea, disturbing the mohair as little as possible. Check after 20 minutes and rinse to see if desired color is achieved, leave in tea bath until the fabric is the desired color. It will dry a lighter shade.
4. When done, rinse in cool water until rinse water is clear. Put some Infusium hair conditioner on the mohair leave for 2 minutes and rinse well. Any good quality hair conditioner will do.
5. Lay on drying rack - a wire food rack with a dish towel will do in a pinch - and let dry.
To coffee dye (for dark blonde and brown) - make strong coffee and follow the instructions above. Use an entire jar of dark coffee to one stove top pot. To get a deeper color you can tea dye and then immediately coffee dye.
The mohair we sell is high quality imported mohair from Australia - it is soft curly kid mohair that has been washed once and still has a some lanolin left in the hair for softness and easy management. You do not need to card it before rooting, but you can if you like. You can use two cat combs to card the mohair - we sell them in our online catalog.
Human hair dye can be used by following the instructions on the package. Use permanent hair dye but don't try to dye too much hair at a time or it won't come out the color you want as the dye is too diffused. RIT dye can be used, but we don't like it because it doesn't give a true natural color, no matter how much you use, nor it is as silky.
To clean mohair use hot soapy water and rinse. No agitating, just soaking and gentle swishing.
IMPORTANT - Do NOT change water temperature when working with mohair. Cold water will felt your hair. Do not twist or wring mohair, gently does it, it doesn't like being agitated. Never brush out mohair when wet, it snaps the fibre.
Good luck!
Combs for carding and combing mohair Felting needles Rooting tool handles
|