[Jewelry making - Article 00854] - [Orchid] Dying pearls

[Elizabeth Pietzsch]

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    I am crazy about jewel-tone colored pearls and have a hard time
    keeping myself supplied with them.  I read an article about a year
    ago that claimed you can do this easily using Ritz fabric dye but,
    in my experience, that only works if you want very pastel colors.  I
    contacted Pro Chemical in PA (they make all sorts of fabric dyes)
    and bought their recommended acid dye sampler but, so far, this is
    not much better than the Ritz dye (although the dye is obviously
    more intense of a color, the pearls are still very pale).  Have any
    of you all seen articles that describe how to really do this?  Is
    there some "preparation" step I'm supposed to be doing to the pearls
    to make them more readily soak up the dye?  Any ideas would be
    appreciated.  My goal was to be able to keep myself supplied with
    the colors and shapes that I use most (instead of the feast or
    famine I experience when trying to buy these at gem shows). 

Thanks in advance, Elizabeth
www.borntobeworn.com 

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