community of dyers

Have you tried dyeing sheepskin before? The dyes you would want to use would be some sort of acid dye. A problem with using recipes that have been worked out for wool and other textiles is that they require heating, but heat's probably going to damage the skin side of your sheepskin. You'll want to do tests on small scraps of sheepskin to make sure that the techniques you try do not damage them.

Jos. H. Lowenstein & Sons sells dyes intended for use on fur and sheepskin. I don't know whether they retail dyes in quantities small enough for your purposes. The metal complex dyes, which they call "Lowalans", look similar to those sold as part of the Lanaset Dyes, which are very popular for dyeing wool. Classic Dye sells some Lowalans dyes, including Acid Red 430, which is a 1:2 metal complex acid dye. Likely they all are.

It is possible to use Procion MX fiber reactive dyes, which are most popular for use on cotton, on leather, instead. Here's a recipe for Dyeing Chrome-Tanned Leather using PRO MX Reactive Dyes, from PRO Chemical & Dye. It would work on any non-water-resistant leather product, but the procedure might also be damaging. The soda ash in that recipe is used to set the dye, but you must test on some scraps to be sure that it does not damage your sheepskin.

For metallics, you'll have to use paint, because there's no such thing as a true dye that is metallic. Metallic fabric paints would be a good choice. The best metallic fabric paint is Lumiere, made by Jacquard Products. You can also buy Pearl Ex pigments and mix them with a clear fabric paint extender so that they will stick.

Fabric paint is also an option for your non-metallic colors, as an alternative to dye. Dye-Na-Flow is a good one for flowing almost like a dye, it's so thin.

You might be able to find Dye-Na-Flow or Lumiere at your local crafts store, but it's not certain. Not all crafts stores carry good fabric paints. You can mail order them from a supplier such as Blick Art Materials or Dharma Trading Company. The Lanaset Dyes can be ordered from PRO Chemical & Dye. Where are you located? Your sources are likely to be different if you live in another country. Kraftkolour in Australia is a good source for metal complex dyes, also known as premetallised or premetallized acid dyes.

Paula