Dyeing to Wig Out: ie.Coloring Alpaca Fibre

We’ve gone over cleaning alpaca fibre, the wigs, and making the wigs, now we can move onto coloring the fibre!

Different Dyes, Different Colors

First off: Human Hair Dyes = NOPE.

Human hair is similar tot hat of alpaca hair but with one specific difference. It does NOT hold human hair dyes well. Maybe due to the chemical makeup of the dye or the fact that the bleach used to help the dye set isn't quite up to par with the delicate but ridiculously stubborn locks of alpaca hair, human hair will bleed like crazy if you use it to dye hair for your wigs.

Leaving that wig made with hair dyed in human hair coloring? A recipe for a blotchy, stained disaster. On your doll. The resin on your doll is super-easy to damage with dyes and inks, colorants, etc. It's half the reason why you work with spray sealants BEFORE you put paint and such on your doll's head or body, not only does it protect your doll from sunlight and give the pencils and paint some 'tooth' during application but the staining element of heavy or even light pigments will be prevented.

And unfortunately, the human dyes are a small enough molecule that it can go right through 2-3 layers of sealant, especially if it's done improperly.

Second: This blog post is just to explain the uses of Acid Dye by the company Jacquard. There are a billion-gazillion other types of dye out there that you can feel free to experiment with (I don't recommend Tintex, it tends to err on the stupendously-pastel side of coloring, plus it clumps) and feel free to do so! This is just what I've done so far with a cold-soak, and a hot-water not-boil.

So let's get started!

---

First of all, those pale blue and red colors in the above photo? Made using a cold water soak for around an hour in 1 Cup of Tap Water and 1 Tablespoon of Jacquard Acid Dye, with the vinegar added when the dye powder is. An hour in cold water AFTER the vinegar is in already is NOT enough time to attain a deep or brilliant coloration, the blue was supposed to be a deep jewel-toned violet/blue while that red was supposed to be Crimson...needless to say, it didn't do what I wanted.

That brown was my results with Tintex powder, a whole package into 1 Cup of water for 8 hours. I had to get rid of it because as soon as it dried and I attempted to style it, the leaking was intense. It nearly destroyed my curling iron. Not worth it for the color saturation.

So here's what I did for a gorgeous, Dark Auburn colored, MSD size wig.

Dark Auburn Alpaca Fibre

First off, clean your fibre! Even if the alpaca fibre you get is pre-cleaned and all that VM (vegetable matter) is removed, it can still sometimes have bits of dirt and dust on it, so give it a nice gentle wash in cold water and some gentle shampoo. Do NOT condition it yet.

Pat it dry and set it aside, don't worry about it being wet before you put it in the dye, it's supposed to be at least damp.

Next, get yourself a dye pot. This can be any pot deep enough to hold the dye and water with room to spare that YOU WILL NOT USE FOR FOOD. EVER.

Acid dyes can and WILL eventually eat into metal and Jacquard dyes themselves are very toxic, so I repeat, DO NOT USE THE POT FOR FOOD. Set it aside as a tool for your crafting, along with a metal spoon or ladle. I used some disposable BBQ skewers because I forgot to get the spoon, skewers work too, just be aware of splatters that can happen more easily with skewers.

Here's the mix I used for 1 ounce of white alpaca fibre in a few tiny bundles:

1 Ounce of alpaca fibre (when dry), soaked/damp with water throughout the locks

10 Fluid Ounces of Water

1 Part Jacquard Acid Dye Powder in Crimson

2 Parts Jacquard Acid Dye Powder in Brown

1 Tbs White Vinegar, set aside

1 Small Pot

1 metal spoon or in my case, bbq skewers

Soap

Towels, clean and used only for dyeing (stains will probably/maybe occur)

Conditioner of your choice, diluted in a spray bottle with water.

Optional: Some small space to hang the locks until they are completely dry.

When it comes to making a very nice auburn color, use 1 part or even a half-part Crimson to 2 parts Brown, if you want a tinge of red, use .5 part. How you measure this out depends on you, though I recommend using teaspoons instead of tablespoons unless you plan to dye a LOT of fibre.

Moving along...

In the small pot, heat the water until it JUST starts to steam, you might have to look at the pot head-on to see the steam, you don't want the water to be boiling, not even close to that, you just want it hot.

Carefully (very carefully) add the dye powders in the mixture you think is best and mix it until the powder is entirely dissolved. Clumps are bad.

Make sure of this last step since you don't want bits of concentrated dye to stick to some parts of your fibre. Unless the polka-dot-slash-smudged-blotchy look is what you're looking for at least.

Once your dye is dissolved, gently squeeze out any excess water in your cleaned alpaca fibre and, here's the scary part:

GENTLY PLACE IT IN THE DYE SOUP.

DO NOT STIR IT. The dye water is hot enough to felt your locks if you do. Use the skewers or the spoon to press the locks down into the liquid until it's covering the fibre. Again, DO NOT STIR.

Let the fibre stand in the pot, and keep a close eye that the heat doesn't rise any higher, you do NOT want the dye hot enough to boil, just kept hot enough to steam.

Oh yes, FYI, the dye bath stinks. Open a window or three.

Soak the fibre for 10 minutes, I wouldn't go any longer than 15 at the most.

Now comes a tricky part. You CAN add the vinegar to the dye bath BEFORE you put the fibre into it, but the color won't saturate as deeply as doing this method.

Using a plastic bowl you can dispose of (or the pot lid if it has one) pull the fibre out of the pot and set it aside for a few seconds.

Add your vinegar to the pot and stir it well to combine the dye and the vinegar. Pull the pot off the burner, you won't need the heat now.

Add the fibre locks to the dye and give it a VERY QUICK stir, OR poke it down so that the vinegar-ed dye goes through all of the locks.

Let it sit for about 5 minutes.

Bring that pot over the sink and drain out the dye, pouring COLD to WARM water over the locks. I suggest using gloves and your hands for this once the water temperature is cool enough to handle the locks.

Rinse the every-loving heck out of that fibre, using your fingers to go down the strands(not up them so they bunch) to smooth them out. Once the rinse-water runs clear, you can set the colored hair on the towel to soak up extra water.

Let them sit on the towel for a few minutes, this will give you an idea as to whether you got the excess dye rinsed out completely or if you missed a spot. Once you know you don't have to rinse them again, spray them with your diluted conditioner(if you have any).

Let the locks dry on the towel, or hang them to dry.

Brush them out, and make your wefts or glue directly the wig cap!

Voila! A gorgeous auburn alpaca fibre hair color for dolls~!

And I got glue all over the wig I was going to show ya'll, so I'll have to update when I have time. ^^;

Comment below if you have a specific color combo you love to see in a doll wig! Is there a style you love above all others?