# Tying with household items/materials. What have you used?



## centennial214

I'm fairly new to tying, but I've already found myself scrounging around in the laundry room for thread colors that I don't have, or cutting open an old extension cord for copper wire.

What common household items do you find useful when tying, and what was the recommended material that it replaced? Whether it's something you use all the time, or just something you used once as a substitute for another material in a pinch, I want to hear about it!

I did come across this article and thought it would be interesting to hear what others have used: http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/michigantroutstreams/fly_tying_on_budget.htm


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## twowack

Sewing thread for the last ten years.It works.anything that is free or cheap but looks like the fly fishing material.I have numerous stuffed toys that had long fur that I skinned and gutted in different colors.And cat hair.It all will work.No disregard for the fly tying material I use that to.
Have a good season!


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## swaprat

copper wire from small dead motors and then there is the oh so fun pipe cleaners that are red and black make great stone flies. so do black and blue ones and orange and black also. that and Velcro as a dubbing picker the hard bristle side. you can add epoxy as another big one that i know every one uses too it hose hold now too lol's any ways best of luck to you hope you get a big list.


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## Ray Adams

Glad no one brought up a home-made Merken Crab.:yikes:

Here's some home brew stuff:

-.223 bore brush for dubbing picker

-Craft foam

-Rubber legs from bass bait skirts

-Copper wire from dead motors

-Tinsel from the Christmas tree

-Beer cans

-Fur and feathers lying around (this is the taxidermist's house, not mine)

-Wool from old sweaters

That's all that comes to mind at the moment.

Ray


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## YPSIFLY

Another vote for cat hair.

We have a calico tabby who's fur can be used in place of deer hair. The other cat has very long fine fur that makes great dubbing. He is dark gray/white so there's a couple options with him.

Just be careful where you harvest the fur from.

"Why does Sadie have a patch of fur clipped from her back?"

"I dunno..they were fighting again?"

"With scissors?"

Busted!!


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## swaprat

if you tie tube flies there is always buying a box of those plastic tubed q-tips ear cleaners cut the cotton of the end and cut to length and put it in the tube mandrel for the tube vise. tying foam flies is very effective i find on some fish that suspend off the bottom by the way good point bring up the foam ray. to bad i don't have a cat to have that problem missing fur i do not think a dogs fur will work quite as good lol's


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## flyfish

Labrador underfur


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## centennial214

Lot's of good ideas here! I'll definitely be putting more than a few of them to use.

I found another one last night as well. The cat chewed through a pair of Apple ear buds and it turns out that they contain a silver colored wire that is nice and thin for the small stuff.


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## Singleandfishinagain

This guy gives up lots of material!

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## Steve

YPSIFLY said:


> Another vote for cat hair.
> 
> We have a calico tabby who's fur can be used in place of deer hair. The other cat has very long fine fur that makes great dubbing. He is dark gray/white so there's a couple options with him.
> 
> Just be careful where you harvest the fur from.
> 
> "Why does Sadie have a patch of fur clipped from her back?"
> 
> "I dunno..they were fighting again?"
> 
> "With scissors?"
> 
> Busted!!


Too funny. 

posted from out in the woods


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## Anish

Foam sheeting type packing material: Great for wings, tiny parachute 
posts, and wraps.
Dog hair/under-fur
Sewing thread
Christmas tree tinsel
Plastic baggies (cut into strips and used as wrap)
Misc. wire
Q-tip tubes
Cat hair
Misc. feathers (we have poultry)
Chenille from old sweaters
Craft foam
Sharpie markers
Foil wrappers from Vitaminwater bottles (any water, pop, juice wrapper
would work).
Empty toilet paper tubes or paper towel tubes for storage of materials

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can come up with right now. :lol:

OH!! Beads!! Those make great eyeballs, especially for crayfish.


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## swaprat

just thought of the latex caddis which i tie with latex rubber gloves wrapped on like regular chenille. i use it on a pm wiggler style fly for steel head.. wrap brown hackle over the latex body. just some thoughts. if you can find any glo in the drak rubber gloves. that works some time too not often but does some times. i will not say what the glo in the dark gloves come from since this is a family site lol's.:evil:


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## YPSIFLY

When I was in college I would cut sections of fabric from furniture that was thrown out and cut it into strips or use whole threads depending upon the fabric. This was in the mid to late 90's when we were using hand me down furniture from the late 70's to 80's, so there was all kinds of odd fabrics available.

The first fly I ever tied was made from starling feathers after a cat killed one in front of my apartment.


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## rcleofly

Dorito bag 

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## Fishfighter

guitar strings striped down so you get a nice little wire


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## FlyGirl

Great one... if it is fine enough you can sometimes use it for dubbing. 




flyfish said:


> Labrador underfur


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