My grandmother has a few tanned deer hides that she was thinking about sewing into a jacket, but she doesn’t like the light color. We’re wondering if it’s possible to dye it darker.
I imagine the dye would absorb easily, but I’m not sure how we could dry it so that it wouldn’t stiffen. My suggestion was to put it in the dryer on “air fluff” and maybe any potential stiffness would tumble out.
Any suggestions?
They make dyes specifically for leather goods, such as this. The colors are quite fast, and it wears well. You only need to let it air dry. Do wear rubber gloves, because it will stain skin. These are rub-on dyes, rather than dip dyes. You just dip a rag in the stuff and wipe it over the item to be dyed.
If I were you, though, I would try to find out how the leather was tanned (brain-tanned buckskin? bark-tanned? Chrome?) and make sure that doesn’t affect which dyes are appropriate. I have no idea whether it makes a difference or not, but it seems possible that it might, as those different processes leave you with very different materials…
The Tandy Leather company have a number you can call, you questions like this.
From their web-site Q&A:
And their stores should have the stuff you need if there’s one near you – the site also mail-orders.
I have no way of finding out how it was tanned. She’s had the hides in storage for about thirty years. (They’re in perfect condition. They’re very supple and are a buttery tan color, with a hint of red.) My grandfather hunted the deer, and took the hides to a tanner. Grandma has long forgotten who it was.
She says she’s going to try dying a few scraps and see what happens.