Silk is covered with a natural gum which has to be removed before the dyeing process can begin. This is done by boiling for one hour or more in a bath containing soap, 2 to 8 ozs. to the pound of silk according to the amount of gum on the silk. It is then well washed, and is ready for mordanting.
The mordants mostly used areAlum, for most of the bright colours.Tin, for brightening some colours, and as a separate mordant for others.Iron, for black dyeing.Chrome, for certain browns such as catechu.
The principal Alum mordant is Acetate of Alumine, prepared as follows: Let 3 lbs. Alum and 3 ozs. chalk be dissolved in 1 gallon of warm water in an earthenware pan, add the chalk slowly to the Alum. Add 2 lbs. white acetate of lead, stir occasionally during 24 to 36 hours. Let it remain 12 hours at rest. Decant and preserve the clear liquor, being careful not to stir up the sediment. Pour 2 gallons of water on the sediment, and stir occasionally for 12 hours. Let it rest 12 hours. Decant the clear and add to the first lot. Bottle for use. It keeps about three weeks. Of the mordant 2 parts are diluted with 1 of water, and the silk is well worked in this for 10 minutes, after being wetted down. Steep for 12 hours, wring out and dry. Wet down again and return to the Alum liquor, work for 10 minutes, steep 12 hours, dry. When thoroughly dry, wash well in several changes of water before dyeing. For less bright colours one mordanting may be sufficient.
The mordant is used for successive batches of silk until exhausted; the fresher the mordant, the better for brighter colours. Silk should be dyed as soon after it is dried as is convenient.
Another Alum mordant. Dissolve 25 per cent of Alum in hot water and add 6 per cent carbonate of soda crystals. Fill up a jar with water and steep silk in it over-night. It must be washed before dyeing.
Silk is dyed in a similar manner as described for wool, but requires stronger vats and longer dips to obtain the same depth of colour. See page33.
Dye at a temperature of 40 to 50°C. with as much Indigo Extract dissolved in the bath as is required for the desired depth of shade. If the silk has been first mordanted with alum, compound colours can be obtained by the addition of a red or yellow dye to the bath.
Mordant with Alum or Aluminium Acetate and dye with 40 to 50 per cent Cochineal. A teaspoonful of Tin, dissolved in cold water, may be added to brighten. Boil well. It is advisable to wash in soap after using tin as it prevents the latter making the yarn brittle.
Mordant with Alum or Aluminium Acetate. Dye with 80 to 100 per cent Madder and a handful of bran per pound of silk. Bring slowly to the boil in 1 hour, boil a few minutes. It should be brightened by boiling a short time in soap, with a little tin.
Mordant with Alum or Aluminium Acetate. Various Dyes may be used.Weld: Dye with 150 per cent.Flavin: Dye with 1 oz. to the pound, with a teaspoonful Tin.Fustic: Dye with 50 per cent, or more.Quercitron: Dye with 10 to 20 per cent. A little chalk may be added towards the end.
The shades may be varied by the addition of small quantities of madder or cochineal. Orange may be obtained by the use of Madder, 2 to 4 ozs. per pound, with Flavin or Fustic.
Greens may be obtained by dyeing with any of the yellow dyes and blueing in the Indigo Vat or with Indigo Extract. If the colour is thin, it should be dyed a deeper blue in the vat and then re-dyed with yellow. A strong clear yellow is needed for a good green.
Dye silk blue in Indigo Vat. Then dye without mordanting in Cudbear.
Mordant with Alum Acetate. Dye with 1/2 lb. Madder, 2 ozs. Flavin and 1 oz. tin.
Enter the tin first in a cold bath. Mix Flavin and Madder into a paste and add to the bath. Bring to the boil slowly, boil for 10 minutes. Wash in soap.
Mordant with Alum Acetate. Dye with 6 ozs. logwood, 3/4 oz. flavin, 1 oz. Iron. Mix all together and boil for 1/2 hour. Wash thoroughly.
(1) Mordant with basic ferric sulphate and after allowing the silk to lie for some time, wash well and soap at 90°C.
(2) Dye with 50 per cent Fustic, 10 per cent Ferrous Sulphate and 2 per cent Copper Acetate.
(3) Dye with logwood 50 per cent and soap.
Mordant with 1 oz. Iron and 2 ozs. Cream of Tartar. Boil a quantity of young bracken tips for 1/2 hour. Strain. Boil silk in the decoction for about an hour.
Mordant with Alum Acetate. Put into the dye bath the quantity of lichen according to required colour with about a teaspoonful of Acetic Acid. Boil from 1 to 3 hours.
1 oz. tin, 1/2 oz. Oxalic Acid, 2 oz. Flavin. Enter silk and boil for 1 hour. Remove silk and add to the bath 1 oz. tin, 1 oz. Oxalic, 2 oz. Cochineal. Boil for 1 hour or more.
Mordant with 2 oz. logwood extract, 1-1/4 oz. fustic extract, 1-1/4 oz. iron, 1/2 oz. copper sulphate. Boil for 1 hour. Take out and rinse. To the same bath add 1-3/4 oz. logwood extract, 1 oz. fustic extract, 7 oz. madder. Enter silk and boil for 1 hour. Wash in soap.
Mordant with 1 oz. Bichromate of Potash. Boil 1 hour. In a separate bath put 1 lb. weld and boil for 1 hour.
Mordant with 1-3/4 oz. tin and 1-3/4 oz. oxalic acid. Boil for 1 hour. Then add 3/4 lb. cochineal and 6 oz. madder. Boil well and wash in soap.
Mordant with 1 oz. Copper sulphate. Boil for 1 hour. Take out silk and add 2-1/2 oz. madder, 1 oz. fustic chips, and boil for 1 hour.
Dissolve 1 oz. Tannic Acid in hot water. Enter silk and leave for 24 hours, stirring occasionally. Rinse well in two waters. In a fresh bath, put 4 oz. cochineal. Enter silk. Bring to boil and let blue colour develop. Lift, and add 1 oz. cochineal & 1 oz. tin. Re-enter silk & boil well. Wash in soap.
Adjective Dyes.Dyes which require mordant.
Alizarin.The chief colouring principle of madder. It is also the name for an extensive series of chemical colours produced from anthracene, one of the coal tar hydrocarbons discovered in 1868.
Aniline.Discovered 1826 (anil. Span. indigo). First prepared from indigo by means of caustic potash, found in coal, 1834. Manufactured on a large scale after Perkin's discovery of mauve in 1856.
Annatta.(Annotto, Arnotto, Roucou.) A dye obtained from the pulp surrounding the seeds of theBixa orellana; chiefly used in dyeing silk an orange colour, but is of a fugitive nature.
Argol.The tartar deposited from wines completely fermented, and adhering to the sides of casks as a hard crust. When purified it becomes Cream of Tartar.
Beck.A large vessel or tub used in dyeing.
Bois jaune.Fustic, yellow wood.
Carthamus.Safflower, an annual plant cultivated in South Europe, Egypt and Asia, for the red dye from its flowers.
Caustic Soda.Carbonate of soda, boiled with lime.
Coal Tar Colours.Colours obtained by distillation and chemical treatment from coal tar, a product of coal during the making of gas. There are over 2,000 colours in use.
Detergent.A cleansing agent.
Dip.Generally applied to immersing cloth, etc., in the blue vat.
Divi-Divi.The dried pods ofCaesalpina coriariagrowing in the West Indies and S. America; they contain 20 to 35% tannin and a brown colouring matter.
Dyer's Spirit.Aqua fortis, 10 parts; sal ammoniac, 5 parts; tin, 2 parts; dissolved together.
Enter.To enter wool, to put it into the dye or mordant liquor.
Fenugrec.FenugreekTrigonnella fænugræcum.
Flavin.A colouring matter extracted from Quercitron.
Full, to.To treat or beat cloth for the purpose of cleansing and thickening it.
Fuller's herb.Saponaria officinalis.A plant used in the process of fulling.
Fuller's Thistle, or teasle.Dipsacus fullonum.Used for fulling cloth.
Fustet.Young fustic. Venetian SumachRhus cotinus. It gives a fine orange colour, which has not much permanence.
Galls, Gall nuts.Oak galls produced by the egg of an insect,—the female gall wasp. An excrescence is produced round the egg, and the insect, when developed, pierces a hole and escapes. Those gall nuts which are not pierced contain most tannic acid. The best come from Aleppo and Turkey.
GrammeorGram. About 15-1/2 grains (Troy).
Kilo. Kilogramme.Equals 2 lbs. 3.2 oz.
Litre.Nearly 1-3/4 pints.
Lixivitation.The process of separating a soluble substance from an insoluble by the percolation of water.
Lixivium.(Lye.) A term often used in old dye books, water impregnated with alkaline salts extracted by lixivitation from wood ashes.
LyeorLey.Any strong alkaline solution, especially one used for the purpose of washing such as soda lye, soap lye.
Mercerised Cotton.Cotton prepared by treating with a solution of caustic potash or soda or certain other chemicals. Discovered by John Mercer in 1844.
Milling.The operation of fulling cloth.
Myrobalans.The fruit of several species of trees, growing in China and the East Indies, containing tannic acid (25-40% tannin).
Oil of Vitriol.Sulphuric acid.
Organzine.Twisted raw silk from best cocoons, used for warp.
Pearl Ash.Carbonate of potash.
Persian Berries.The dried unripe fruit of various species of Rhamnus. Also called French berries, grains of Avignon.
Potassium Carbonate.(Potashes.) Carbonate of potash has been known since ancient times as a constituent of the ashes of land plants, from which it is obtained by extraction with water. In most cases Sodium Carbonate, which it strongly resembles, can be used in its place.
Red spirits.Tin Spirits. Applied to tin mordants generally. A solution of Stannous chloride.
Red woods.Camwood, Barwood, Sanderswood (Santal, Sandal, Red Sanders), Brazil wood, Sapan wood, Peach-wood.
Roucou.Anatta, Arnotto.
Saxon blue.The dye made by indigo dissolved in oil of vitriol.
Scotch ell.37.2 inches.
Scour, to.To wash.
Scroop.The rustling property of silk.
Soda ash.Carbonate of soda.
Sour water.To every gallon of water, add one gill vitriol; stir thoroughly. Stuff steeped in this should be covered with the liquor, otherwise it will rot.
(2) Water in which bran has been made to grow sour. 24 bushels of bran are put in a tub, about 10 hogsheads of nearly boiling water is poured into it; acid fermentation soon begins, and in 25 hours it is ready to use.(3) Throw some handfuls of bran into hot water and let it stand for 24 hours, or until the water becomes sour, when it is fit for use.
(2) Water in which bran has been made to grow sour. 24 bushels of bran are put in a tub, about 10 hogsheads of nearly boiling water is poured into it; acid fermentation soon begins, and in 25 hours it is ready to use.
(3) Throw some handfuls of bran into hot water and let it stand for 24 hours, or until the water becomes sour, when it is fit for use.
Staple.A term applied to cotton and wool indicating length of fibre.
Substantive Dye.A dye not requiring a mordant.
Sumach.Leaves and twigs of several species of Rhus, containing tannic acid. It is sold in the form of crushed leaves or as a powder (15-20% tannin).
Tram.Slightly twisted raw silk, used for weft.
Tyrian purple.A purple colour obtained from certain shell fish, such as Buccinum and Purpura. It is mentioned by Pliny as being discovered in 1400b.c.It was a lost art in the Middle Ages.
Valonia.Acorn cups of certain species of oak from South Europe, containing 25-35% of tannic acid.
Vegetable alkali.Potash.
Verdigris.Acetate of copper.
Wet out, to.To damp before putting the yarn or cloth into the dye.
A profitable Boke. (On Dyeing.) Translated from the Dutch. 1583.
Bancroft, Edward. The Philosophy of Permanent Colours. 1794.
Berthollet. The Art of Dyeing. 1824.
Bird, F. J. The Dyer's Handbook. 1875.
Bolton, Clement. A Manual of Wool Dyeing. 1913.
Boulger, Professor G. S. The Uses of plants. 1889.
Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopædia. 1830. Dyeing.
Crook, W. Dyeing and Tissue Printing. 1882.
Darwin and Meldola. Woad. ("Nature," Nov. 12, 1896.)
Edge, Alfred. Some British Dye Lichens. (Journal of the Society of Dyers and Colourists. May, 1914.)
Edmonston, T. "On the Native Dyes of the Shetland Islands." (Transactions of Botanical Society of Edinburgh, Vol. 1, 1841.)
English Encyclopædia. Dyeing. 1802.
Francheville. On Ancient and Modern Dyes, 1767. (Royal Academy of Sciences, Berlin.)
Haigh, James. The Dyer's Assistant. 1778.
Hellot, Macquer, M. le Pilleur D' Apligny. The Art of Dyeing Wool, Silk and Cotton. (Translated from the French, 1789. New Edition. 1901.)
Henslow. Professor G. Use of British plants.
Hiscock, Gardiner D. 20th Century book of Recipes, Formulas and Processes. 1907.
Hummel, J. J. The Dyeing of Textile Fabrics.
Hurst, Silk Dyeing and Printing. (Technological Handbook. 1892.)
Jarmain, George. On Wool Dyeing. 6 Lectures. 1876.
Knecht, Rawson and Lowenthal. A Manuel of Dyeing. 1893.
Lindsay, Dr. W. L. On the Dyeing Properties of Lichens. (Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, 1855.)
Love, Thomas. The Practical Dyer and Scourer. 1854.
Mackay, Mrs. Anstruther. Simple Home Dyeing.
Milroy, R. P. Handbook for Dyeing for Woollen Homespun Workers. (Congested Districts Board for Ireland.)
Morris, William. "Of Dyeing as an Art." (Essays by Members of Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, 1903.)
Morris, William. "The Lesser Arts of Life." (from Architecture, Industry and Wealth. 1902.)
Napier, James. A Manual of Dyeing Recipes. 1855.
Napier, James. A Manual of the Art of Dyeing. 1853.
Parnell's Applied Chemistry.—Article on Dyeing.
Plowright, Dr. British Dye Plants. (Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society, Vol. 26. 1901.)
Rawson, Gardiner and Laycock. A Dictionary of Dyes, Mordants. 1901.
Sansome. "Dyeing." 1888.
Sims, T. Dyeing and Bleaching. (British Manufacturing Industries. 1877.)
Smith, David. The Dyer's Instructor. 1847.
Smith. Practical Dyer's Guide. 1849.
Sowerby. English Botany.
Sowerby. Useful Plants of Great Britain.
The Art of Dyeing. (Translated from the German. 1705. Reprint, 1913.)
The Dyer and Colour Maker's Companion. 1859.
Thomson, John M. The Practical Dyer's Assistant. 1849.
Acacia,40Acetate of Alumina,46,56Adjective dyes,6,60Agrimony,12Alder,11,14,15,40Alizarin,60Alkanet,12Alpaca,1Alum,7,for silk,56,cotton, linen,46Ammonia,2,3,32Aniline,60Annotto, Anatta, Annatta, Arnotto,4,50,60Arcel,21Archil,19Argol,60Areca,40Ash,12Barberry,12,for cotton,4,for silk,38Barwood,34,62Bearberry,12Beck,60Bedstraw,11Bichromate of Potash,9Birch,11,12,14Black,29,40-42dyeing plants,15for cotton, linen,51for silk,58,59from alder,40from walnut,41with logwood,29Blackberry,15Blaeberry,12,14Blue,24-30dyeing plants,12from lichen,21" logwood,29" whortleberry,12Blue vitriol,10Bluestone,10Bog asphodel,12Bog myrtle,12Bois de Campeche,28Bois jaune,60Bracken,12Bran,33,57Bramble,12Brazil woods,34Broom,12Brown,40-42dyeing plants,14for cotton,50for wool from catechu,40from alder bark,40" crotal,19" Iceland moss,22" lichens,22" madder,33,42" onion skins,41" peat soot,41" walnut,41Brownish red,14,34Bryony,14Buckthorn,12Camel hair,1Camomile,13Campeachy wood,28Camwood,34,62Carbonate of Potash,62Carbonate of Soda,60Carthamus,60Catechu,40for cotton,46,47,50Caustic potash,28Caustic soda,25-28,60Centaury,13Chestnut,47Chrome,9,47,56Coal Tar Colours,60Coccus,31,32Cochineal,31Copper,10,47Copperas,8,9Copper Sulphate,10Corydal,13Cotton,4,46-55mordanting,46the colour of,4Crab Apple,12Cream of Tartar,7,10Crimson—from cochineal,32from lichens,17,21Crottle, Crotal,16,17,19,20,21,23Cudbear,16,20Cutch,40Damson,14Danewort,14Dandelion,14Deadly nightshade,14Detergent,60Devil's Bit,12Dip,60Divi-divi,47,60Dock,12,15Dog's Mercury,12Dulse,14Dyer's Broom,38Dyer's Greenwood,12Dyer's Spirit,60Dyer's Woodruff,12Elder,12,14,15Felting, to prevent,3Fenugrec, Fenugreek,13,60Ferrous sulphate,8Flavin,38Flax,4Fleece, various kinds of,1Flowering reed,14French brown,42Fuller's Herb,61Fuller's Thistle,61Fumitory,13Fustic,36for green,44Fustet,61Gall nuts,47,61Gamboge from lichen,22Golden rod,13Golden yellow from weld,25Gorse,12Gramme,61Green,43-45black,42dyeing plants,13from Fustic,44" Quercitron,44" Weld,44with logwood,29" Indigo extract,44,45" Indigo vat,43" Indigo Extract and weld,44Green Vitriol,8Greening weed,43Greenish brown,42Greenish black,42Grey,30Grey from Catechu,40Gromwell,12Hazel colour from Peatsoot,41Heath,13Heather,11,39Hellebore,13Hematin Crystals,42Hogs,2Hop,13,14Hornbeam,13Hydrochloric acid,28Hydrosulphite vat,25-28Iceland Moss,18,22Indigo,24Indigo Extract,25for green,44,45Indigo Vats,25-28for cotton,48for cotton (zinc-lime),51for green,43,44,45Improvement of,27Indigo White,27Indigotine,27Iris,11,12,15Iron,8,9for cotton,47for silk,56Iron filings,6Kashmir wool,1Kermes, Kerms,31Kilo,61Korkalett,17Korkir,20Lady's Bedstraw,11,12Lamb's fleece,1Larch,14Lavender,29Lemon yellow from fustic,36from lichen,20Lesser Dye,29Ley,61Lichen dyes,14,16-23list etc., for dyeing,20-22Lilac with cochineal,32Lily of the Valley,14Lima wood,34Lime,52Linen,4,5Ling,13Litre,61Lixivitation,61Lixivium,61Logwood,20,28-30Lucerne,13Madder,12,32,42Marsh Marigold,13Meadow Rue,13Meadowsweet,15Mercerised cotton,61Milling,61Mimosa,40Mohair,1Mordants,8-10for silk,56for linen and cotton,46Muriate of Tin,9Myrobalans,47,61Nettle,13,14Oak,14,15Oak bark,41Oak galls,47Oak lung,23Oak rag,23Oil of vitriol,24,61Old gold from fustic,36from weld,35Old fustic,36Olive from fustic,36,37from weld,35Olive green,43Onion skins,14,39,41Orange from annatta,50from flavin,38from lichen,21,22Orange from weld,36from turmeric,37Orchil,16,18Organzine,61Orseille d'Auvergne,20Oxalic acid,9Peach wood,34Pear,13Pearl ash,25,61Peat soot,41Persian berries,42,61Pink from lichen,20Plum,13Plum colour from lichen,17Polygonum,13Poplar,13Potash,62Potassium Carbonate,62Potassium dichromate,9Potentil,12,13Privet,12,13,14,39Purple, from cochineal,32,33from lichen,18,20,21from logwood,30from whortleberry14Purple dyeing plants,14Purplish slate,32from Brazil woods,34from cochineal,32Quercitron,37for cotton and linen,48for green,44Ragweed,13Raven grey,30Red,31-34from Brazil woods,34from lichens,20-23from madder,33for cotton,49,50Red brown,34from alder,40from lichen,20from madder,34Red currant,14Red dyeing plants,11Red purple with cudbear and logwood,20with logwood,30Red woods,34Retting,4Rose red,33Roucou,60,62Saddening,10,40,41,47Saffron from lichen,23Safflower,4Sanderswood,34Sandalwood,34Sapan wood,34Sawwort,13Saxon blue,44,62Saxon green,43Scarlet (cochineal),32Scarlet of grain,32Scotch ell,62Scouring agents,2-3Scroop,62Scrottyie,17,21Sheep, various kinds of,1-2Silk, mordants,56the dyeing of,57preparation of,3,56various kinds, of3Slate purple,32Sloe,12Soap for scouring,2Soda,2Soda ash,62Sodium carbonate,62Sour water,62Sorrel,11Spanish wool,1Spindle tree,13Stachys,13Staple,62St. John's wort,13Stannous chloride,9Substantive dye,6,11,18,37,62Sulphuric acid,24Sumach,7,40,48,62Sundew,13,14Sweet willow,13Tan,42Tan colour fr. lichen,19Tannin,47Tannic acid,47Teasel,13Terra cotta (lichen),19Tin,9,47,56Tin crystals,9Tin salts,9Tousch,22Tram,62Trefoil,13Turkey red oil,49Turmeric,37Tyrian purple,62Valonia,47,63Vegetable alkali,63Verdigris,11,63Vetch,13Vicuna,1Violet from elder,14Walnut,11,14,40Water,2Water lily,14Wayfaring tree,13Weld,13,35with copper,35for green,44Wet out, to,63Wethers,2Whortleberry,12,14Willow,13Woad,12,25Wool,1-3colour of,1method of dyeing,3to wash,2various kinds of,1,2Yellow,35-39for cotton (weld),50for linen (lichen),19for silk,57from weld,35dyer's broom,38fustic,37heather,39lichen,19,22,23privet,39quercitron,38sumach,41Yellow brown from lichen,16from sumach,41Yellow dyeing plants,12-13Yellow green,43Yellow weed,43