Day of the Tentacle Part 5

So getting colour on the eight arms was pretty much a full day's work. First the felt is washed in hot water with mild soap to get rid of any leftover sizing from the manufacturing process. I started off scrubbing them by hand but ended up just simmering them on the stove in soapy water. Then it is washed out and put in a mix of vinegar and water to soak for a bit.

You take it out leaving most of the vinegar water in and lay it down on some cling film. Next it is painted with food colouring mixed with water to dilute it.  Once done roll it up in the cling film and steam for 15 minutes.

I made the mistake of rolling the first tentacle across the short axis which made the darker colours from the center bleed across to the light underside. Subsequent tentacles were rolled up on the long axis and came out much better. 

I also dyed some scraps to cut the suckers from and some roving for covering the seams and making patterns on the surface.