I recently was checking out the Pearsall's website: http://www.pearsallsembroidery.com/index.php?cPath=50&osCsid=8a74743226f313201b01561fc5dd081a and found that the list of available colors has diminished considerably. I hope this isn't a bad omen. The name gossamer has an interesting history: http:...

I make several waxes but the one I am referring to in this post is the one known in fly tying literature as white, transparent or colourless wax. It dates from the days of eyeless hooks when silk gut was used to connect the hook to the leader. Not only did it help to preserve the silk thread but it ...

"a mode of partially curling the hackle": http://www.archive.org/stream/artoftrou ... 0/mode/2up

Bill

"The most extensive and best dyer of wool and feathers we ever knew was the late Mr Thomas Ettingsall, Merchants' Quay, Dublin. Many and many an hour have we spent in the long, lumbered, and supremely dirty loft he called his laboratory ; but he was a poet, and poets would be nothing without the fac...

Producing iron tannate gives one of the finest duns and is probably the most ancient dye process of all. There are numerous ways to go about it. One way is to soak iron filings or rusty nails in vinegar until the liquid turns rust colored. Sources for the tannin component are unlimited but right now...

Here is a link to Blacker's 1855 edition: http://www.archive.org/details/blackers ... 00blacrich Bill

I have tried several of Blacker's dyeing recipes. He was a good colorist but his methods were a bit rough and ready for me. I use a .01 gram scale and measure liquid in ml. For a tutorial on using natural dyes here is a link: http://www.feathersmc.com/articles/show/54 . On the same site under, body ...

Hi there, Can anyone recommend me a good book / online resources for preparing and dyeing your own fur and hackles? I have a couple of veniard dyes I've yet to try, but I'd be interested to know (and have a play with) some of the traditional methods, too. Cheers, Andrew. http://www.feathersmc.com/a...

In his book "Floating Flies" F.M. Halford writes: “The numerous recipes given in general angling books for preparing transparent wax, are, without exception, unsuccessful: the wax so prepared is either brittle hence difficult to get to adhere to the silk or too soft and rapidly becomes greasy in use...

Does anybody know what is used in Cobbler's wax to give it that dark colour? I've tried to mix a piece of cobbler's wax I have with beeswax (by melting them both together, with a spot of olive oil for softening) and although it all seems to mix when liquid, as it cools, the dark colour must be dens...