Coloured willow soaking times & tips

8 April 2025

If you’re working with coloured willow, you will need to soak it before you use it. Below, we have put together a guide for coloured willow soaking times. A few important things to note:

• Soak different colours separately to avoid discolouration or colour leaching. 
• Use clean, cold water to soak your willow.
• It takes longer to soak willow on a cold winter’s day than on a hot summer’s day.
• If the willow has been stored for a long time, it will take longer to soak.
• Our heavy duty soaking bags are available in a range of lengths and widths and are supplied with easy to follow instructions. A soaking bag is easy to empty afterwards, and you can then mellow your willow in the bag.

Coloured willow soaking times