Recipes For Dyeing

(1) INDIGO VAT



Take 3 oz. well ground indigo, mix into a paste with hot water. Slake

3 oz. Quicklime and boil with 6 oz. Potash or Soda ash in sufficient

water, let it settle, pour off the clear liquor in which dissolve the

indigo paste, boil or keep hot 24 hours; it should then have the

consistency of thick cream, with much froth. During the boiling, slake

another 3 oz. quicklime, boil in a pint of water for 15 minutes, let

settle, pour off the clear liquor in which dissolve 4 to 5 oz. green

copperas. Add the indigo and copperas solutions to 5 gallons water,

stir well, let vat rest, stir once or twice during 24 hours or until

it appear ready for dyeing. Before use it should be stirred and let

stand 2 hours. It should be a clear yellowish green with much scum.



The cotton to be dyed should be entered in dips of increasing lengths

of time, as 1, 5, 10, 20 minutes, and aired in between, according to

depth of shade required. It should then be well washed, passing

through water slightly acidulated with Sulphuric acid (a teaspoonful

to 1 gallon). When this vat appears exhausted and turns a dark colour

it may be revived by adding 2 or 3 oz. Green Copperas dissolved as

before. When again exhausted, more of all the ingredients must be

added.



(2) LIME COPPERAS VAT



2 oz. Indigo, 4 oz. Copperas, 5 oz. Quicklime (fresh). Mix Indigo into

a paste with hot water. Dissolve copperas in hot water. Slake lime.

Fill earthenware jar with about 5 gallons cold water and add the

Indigo, copperas and slaked lime in that order. Stir well, cover and

let stand till next day or until vat is in proper condition; it should

be clear brownish yellow with possible blue scum. There will be some

sediment. The dyeing process is as in (1).



(3) RED



(For 1 lb. cotton.) The Turkey Red process is long and difficult. (1)

Boil yarn 6 to 8 hours in a solution of carbonate of soda, 1-1/2 oz.,

wash well and dry. (2) Prepare a solution of 2 fluid ozs. Turkey Red

oil, 2 ozs. carbonate of soda at 100 deg.F., work cotton in this till

thoroughly saturated, wring out, dry. (3) Repeat No. 2. (4) Repeat No.

2. (5) Steep 3 or 4 hours in solution of 1 oz. carbonate of soda at

100 deg.F., wring out, dry. (6) Repeat No. 5 with a slight increase of

soda. (7) as No. 6. (8) Steep 10 hours in water at 100 deg.F., dry. The

cotton should now be clear white. (9) Steep 4 hours in solution of

1-1/2 oz. tannic acid or 4 oz. Galls, at 100 deg.F., wring out, dry.

(10) Steep 24 hours in solution made by dissolving 10 oz. alum in hot

water, and slowly adding 2-1/2 oz. carbonate of soda crystals, wring

out and dry. The cotton is now grey coloured. (11) Dye with 2 lbs.

madder. Bring slowly to the boil, boil for 1 hour, a white scum on the

surface denotes the cotton has absorbed all its colour. A teaspoonful

of chalk may be added to the dye-bath. The cotton is now dark claret

colour. (12) To brighten, boil 3 or 4 hours in a solution of 1/2 oz.

carbonate of soda crystals and 1/2 oz. soap. The bath should be

covered, except for a small outlet for the steam which otherwise

should be retained as much as possible. (13) The cotton can be further

brightened by boiling with 1/2 oz. soap and a teaspoonful of Tin. Wash

and dry.



(4) RED



(For 1 lb.) After boiling out in soda, wash and dry. Steep overnight

in a hot bath of 1-1/2 oz. Tannic acid or 4 oz. Galls, dry, steep in

cold solution of 1/4 lb. alum and 1/2 oz. chalk, dry, add 2 oz. more

alum to solution and steep as before, wash and dry. Dry with 12 oz.

Madder, bring to boil in 1 hour and boil a few minutes, rinse, re-dye

as above, pass through warm soap bath, 2 oz., wash and dry.



(5) YELLOW



(For 1 lb.) Mordant twice in Aluminium acetate, as described for silk

(page 73), or in 1/4 lb. alum and 1-1/2 oz. chalk, steeping in cold

solution. Pass through weak bath of chloride of lime, wash, dry. Dye

with 2-1/2 lbs. weld and 1/2 oz. copper sulphate, boil for 1 hour,

then boil with soap. Or dye with 2 to 3 oz. Quercitron, which should

be brought slowly to the boil and boiled for a few minutes only.



(6) YELLOW



(For 1 lb.) Steep overnight in hot bath of 1-1/2 oz. Tannic acid, or 4

oz. Galls, wring out, dry. Work 2 hours in bath of 1/4 lb. alum and

1/2 oz. chalk, dry, pass through weak bath of chloride of lime about 1

oz., dry. Return to alum bath and repeat process, wash well, dye

slowly with 1-1/2 oz. Flavin.



(7) ORANGE



(For 1 lb.) Boil 2 oz. Annatto with 1 oz. carbonate of soda crystals

for 1/2 hour, then add to a bath containing a teaspoonful of Turkey

Red Oil, boil for 10 minutes. Take off boil, enter yarn, boil for

1-1/4 hours, let cool to hand heat, remove yarn, wash slightly and dry

quickly.



(8) BROWN



(For 1 lb.) Enter in one bath 1 oz. Cutch, in another 1/2 oz. Chrome.

Enter cotton in cutch bath, boil 20 minutes, wring out, boil 10

minutes in chrome bath. Add 6 oz. fustic or 1 oz. flavin to cutch

bath, re-enter cotton. Repeat above until the required depth of colour

is reached, finish in cutch bath to obtain deepest shade, which may be

darkened by adding 1 drachm or so copper sulphate. A greyish drab may

be got by adding ferrous sulphate. All shades of brown may be obtained

by decreasing or increasing the amount of cutch or by adding a little

logwood or fustic, in which latter case the cotton should have been

previously mordanted.



(9) BLACK



(For 1 lb.) Wash, steep overnight in hot solution of tannic acid, 1

oz., wring out without washing, work for 10 minutes in soda bath, at a

temperature of 50 deg. to 60 deg.C., 1-1/4 oz. Wring out, work in cold

solution of copperas, 1-1/4 oz., for 1/2 hour, return to soda bath for

1/4 hour. Wash, dye in bath of logwood 12 oz., madder 2-1/2 oz., and

fustic 8 oz. Enter into cold bath and raise gradually to boiling, boil

for 1/2 hour, pass through warm solution of chrome, 1 oz., wash, work

through warm soap bath.



Greys may be obtained with 1 to 5 per cent of logwood after mordanting

in a weak solution of iron.