Pearsall's Hot Orange

[DNicolson]

This is the recent source I found for Pearsall silk. You'll notice the info on dyeing. I think Pearsall has been using aniline dyes on their silks since the mid nineteenth century. It appears they contracted the dyeing out, the black silk was notorious for snapping very easily, black has to stay in the dye the longest and can be affected by it. This is probably the reason brown silk is used on Stewart's Black Spider. In one of Skues books, I can't remember which one, he comments on the unreliability of black silk.
For a long time in the mid twentieth century pearsall silk quite fell out of fashion, along with spiders etc and various colours became difficult to obtain, blue in particular. You'll note that the dyeing contracter changed in 2002.

http://www.flytyingboutique.com/store/D ... category=9

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

Due to the recient conversations about tying silks and colors
and the particular refrence to the color Ash. I was courious as to
what might be the closest 'match'. ... The smoke that is pictured
in Donald's link is that 'close'???
Or how about a gray Sharpie applied to some white pearsalls ?????

Just tossin' something out there...

hank

[narcodog]

Uni 8/0 is about dead on. I just looked at DN's site and no. 10 is ash so, no 10 smoke looks the same. For whatever reason they have changed the name. I bought some 10 Ash from Langley a couple of years ago.

[JohnP]

Ash is browner than I expected. There is a chap in Sweden with some for sale.

[Kelly L.]

I just bought a couple of the smoke...I believe it will be very close, if in fact...the very same as the ash, in color.

[DNicolson]

Hank, that is a good idea, the Sharpie pens have a good range of colours and white silk takes the
colour from the pens very well. It would be worth while getting a YLI white and trying some experiments.
That way quite a few good variant silks could be obtained.

I do not believe there is a 'mummy's curse' that anyone using other than genuine Victorian Pearsall
shall be cast into the outer darkness.

[hankaye]

Donald, Howdy;

Thanks.

hank