Dye bath

“ Although it is possible to dye wool with the basic dyes from a plain bath containing water only, yet the results are not satisfactory, especially when working on a large scale; and for dyeing pale shades especially, the affinity of the dye-stuff for the fibre is so great that the first portions of the goods which are entered into the dye-bath have a great tendency to absorb all the dye-stuff, or the larger proportion of it, so that uneven dyeing is the result, one end of the piece of cloth being darker than the other end. ”

“ A slow dyeing is generally more level and successful in every way. In cases where the fiber absorbs the color greedily the dyer sometimes puts other ingredients called “assistants” into the bath to retard this absorption.
[Pg 41] Frequently the craftsman does shaded dyeing, such as a scarf with deep blue ends grading to a light blue center. The following directions will accomplish this: Hold the scarf in the middle with one hand, dip the ends into the dye-bath and work them thoroughly with the other hand. Then lower the scarf into the bath very gradually without interrupting the working. ”

“ As a complete exhaustion of the baths does not take place, especially when dyeing dark shades, it is advantageous, nay, even imperative, to preserve the baths for further use, they are then replenished with only about three-fourths of the quantities of dye-stuffs used for the first bath, of the soap only about one fourth, of Glauber's salt, soda and phosphate of soda only about one-fifth, of the first quantities are necessary. ”

“ Another good reason for not using too strong a bath is that with a weaker solution it is much easier to avoid the streaks that annoy the inexperienced dyer. The use of too small a vessel is a frequent cause of uneven dyeing; the material should literally swim in the tub so that no dye can possibly settle in the folds, and for this same reason it is essential to keep the goods stirred the whole time they are in the dye. ”

“ To prepare the dye bath, add more or less of the spirituous tincture to a 10- or 15-gallon dye bath of water, which has been slightly soured with sulphuric acid.
Rich Orange On Woolen.—Dissolve 1 pound of phosphine in 15 gallons of boiling water, and stir the fluid until the acid has dissolved. No mordant is required to dye wool. First work the goods about in a weak solution, and finally in one of full strength, to which a little acetate of soda has been added. Keep up the temperature to just below the boiling point while working the goods in the dye bath. ”

“ If not removed many chemicals which have been used as assistants, becoming more concentrated as the goods dry, act injuriously on the dye or the fiber. Likewise any unused color will continue to dye the goods and of course unevenly. It is clearly essential that the rinsing be done immediately upon removal of the goods from the bath. ”

“ The material should be free from starch or sizing of any kind before it is put into the dye.
After the goods has been stirred in the bath for five to ten minutes, more dye can be added if necessary. Be sure to remove the material from the dye bath before adding more dye. ”

“ Fill the dye bath half full of water, add 6 to 8% of Oxalic acid, 6% of stannous chloride and 5 to 12 per cent. ground cochineal, boil up for 5 to 10 minutes, then fill up the dye bath with cold water. Introduce the wool, heat up the bath to the boiling point in the course of 3⁄4 to 1 hour and boil 1⁄2 hour. Washing between mordanting and dyeing is not absolutely essential. The addition of tartar up to 8 per cent. increases the intensity and yellowness of the colour. ”

“ TEMPERATURE OF DYE-BATH A good deal of the failure of success attending the dyeing of a batik depends on the temperature of the dye-bath. Too hot water will of course melt the wax and a too cold bath will make it so brittle that it will crack in unexpected and undesired places. ”

“ In this respect it serve as a guide that concentrated baths are best used dyeing dark shades while light shades can be dyed in more dilute baths. The most important factor for producing uniform dyeings is the appropriate regulation of the temperature of the dye-bath. Concerning this the dyer must bear in mind that the direct colours possess a greater affinity for cotton if dyed below the boiling-point, and only go on the (p. 172) wool when the bath is boiling, especially so the longer and more intensely the goods are boiled. ”

“ Very great skill is required in the employment of aniline dyes, as if the heat be too great, or the skins remain too long in the final bath, “bronzing” of the color occurs. The only remedy for this (and that not always effectual) is to sponge the skin with plenty of cold, clean water, directly it is taken out of the final dye bath. The dyed skins are dried and finished as before.
Leather Brown.—
Boil all these ingredients for 15 minutes, and then dilute with water to make 10 gallons of dye liquor. ”

“ It is not only waste of dye to use a strong solution, but a more durable fast color is secured by allowing the goods to remain in the dye bath until there is a thorough union between the dye and the fiber of the cloth. This union cannot be obtained in a few minutes sufficiently to stand much rough usage. “Make haste slowly” must be the motto of the dyer who wishes a permanent color. Remember the time required in the old indigo and turkey red processes.
[77]
Batik by Ilonka Karasz. Courtesy Academy Art Shop, New York
Batik by Winold Reiss. ”

“ Many dyes, while most successful at high temperature, work very well in moderately warm, or even cold solution. This is of very great advantage in pattern dyeing, as in batik work, where the wax forbids a high temperature.
The composition of the dye-bath is not often as simple as we have indicated. Usually the dyer adds one or more other chemicals to assist in dissolving the dye, to control the rate of absorption of the dye by the fabric, or for some other purpose. ”

“ Here we must take special steps to get the dye well into the fiber and secure the results obtained from the large dye-bath in all-over dyeing.
The fabric must be prepared for pattern dyeing in the same manner as for all-over dyeing. It is just as essential that it be clean, free of sizing, with its fibers soft and absorbent. Attention has been called to the pains taken by the Orientals in the preparation of their fabrics for decoration. We must not jeopardize our success by omitting to boil out new raw material and to clean old material. ”

“ They may be dyed either from plain baths containing common salt or Glauber's salt, or from baths containing common salt or Glauber's salt and a little acetic acid.
Alkaline or soap baths do not work well as a rule, and must be avoided in wool dyeing. Generally the dye-bath is exhausted of colour, and full shades are easily obtained, while these reds are in general remarkable for the evenness and (p. 101) uniformity of tint which can be produced. ”

“ Temperature plays a great part in dyeing, for if the dye bath is too hot when the cloth is introduced, the dye, having a great avidity for wool, will be absorbed unequally by the cloth, the ends and outside folds of the cloth absorbing more color than is desired, and the inner folds will have less. ”

“ THIS beautiful and fascinating art of textile decoration, applied to draperies and articles of dress, has been practiced in many countries for centuries. Old pieces have been found in South America, in Peru and Bolivia. In the Philippines and in provinces of India the work may still be seen, the art having been handed down from generations unknown.
The essential process consists in dyeing the cloth in a dye-bath after having wound parts of it more or less tightly with string or cord, which serves as a resist to prevent the color from reaching those parts of the fabric. ”

“ This is an economical proceeding in many cases, especially in working with many of the old tannin materials, like sumac, divi-divi, myrobalans, and the modern direct dyes, which during the dyeing operations are not completely extracted out of the bath, or in other words the dye-bath is not exhausted of colouring matter, and therefore it can be used again for another lot of goods simply by adding fresh material to make up for that absorbed by the first lot. ”

“ A spot of grease or other soil allows that part of the fabric less opportunity to extract [Pg 36] color from the dye-bath, with the result that the dyeing is not level. Thorough washing with soap and warm water followed by a good rinsing will remove most spots. The methods of the dry cleaner will be necessary for others.
All sizing must be removed. Sizing consists of substances such as clay, flour, starch, gum, oil, tallow, soap, etc., put into the fiber, either before or after weaving, for the purpose of giving weight, body, strength, stiffness, softness, finish, or other desired quality. ”

“ The area inside the hem was covered with wax, placed in a bath of cold water, and carefully crackled. It was then immersed in a blue dye-bath. After drying the same area was rewaxed, again crackled, and immersed in a red dye-bath. The result is very pleasing, a purple border with blue, red and purple crackle forming a delicate net work over the white center.
BATIKED HANDKERCHIEF
[Pg 75]
CHAPTER IV
BATIKS AND OTHER ILLUMINATED TEXTILES
APPLIED design has been the stabilizing factor in art education. It gives to art education a tangible reason for its place in the schools. ”

“ Mordant the wool for 1 to 1-1/2 hours with 3 per cent Chrome and 1 per cent Sulphuric Acid. Wash and dye in separate bath for 1 to 1-1/2 hours with 50 per cent Logwood. This gives a blue black.
A dead black is got by adding 5 per cent Fustic to the dye bath.
A green black by adding more fustic. Also by adding 3 to 4 per cent Alum to the mordanting bath a still greener shade can be obtained.
A violet black is produced by adding 2 per cent Stannous Chloride to the dye bath and continue boiling for 20 minutes. ”

“ Therefore (and especially in dyeing light shades on goods manufactured of shoddy) only a small quantity of soda or borax is to be added to the dye-bath and severe boiling is to be avoided. Wherever it is possible goods which are to be dyed in light shades should be made from the palest materials, and the dark qualities only used for goods which are to be dyed in dark shades. ”

“ The dye-bath is not exhausted of colour and so should be kept standing, for each subsequent lot of cotton add 8 lb. Immedial black and 3 lb. sulphide of soda, and to every 10 gallons of water added to bring the bath up to volume 1⁄2 lb. soda and 3 lb. salt.
These blacks are very fast to washing, light, etc. By using smaller quantities of dye-stuff good greys can be dyed.
Black.—Prepare the dye-bath with 10 lb. soda, 10 lb. sulphide of sodium, 60 lb. salt and 25 lb. Vidal black, work at the boil for one hour, then rinse and fix with 3 lb bichromate of potash and 2 lb. sulphuric acid. ”

“ The dyeing is sometimes done by brushing on a table, grain-side upwards, but more usually the skins are folded closely down the back, flesh-side inwards, so as to protect it as much as possible from the influence of the colour, and then passed through the dye-bath, which is now generally of aniline colours. ”

“ Dyeing on wool.—Alumed wool takes, in the madder bath, a red colour, which is not so bright as cochineal red, but it is faster; and as it is far cheaper, it is much used in England to dye soldiers cloth. A mordant of alum and tartar is employed; the bath of madder, at the rate of from 8 to 16 ounces for the pound of cloth, is heated to such a degree that we can just hold our hand in it, and the goods are then dyed by the wince, without heating the bath more till the colouring matter be fixed. ”

“ The best results are obtained when 1 per cent, of chalk is added to the dye-bath. (5) Soap as in red dyeing.
Process 2. (1) Boil with soda, (2) oil with Turkey-red oil, (3) steep in pyrolignite of iron (iron liquor) for one hour, then age by hanging in the air. (4) Dye as before. (5) Soap.
Fine blacks are got if after oiling the cotton is treated with sumac or tannic acid, then mordanted with iron and dyed with alizarine as usual.
Chocolate Browns.—Fine fast chocolate browns can be [Pg 173] got from alizarine by using a mixed mordant of iron and alumina, either the acetate or the sulphate. ”

“ The depth of shade which is dyed depends chiefly upon the amount of indigo in the vat, and also upon the time during which the hanks are dipped in the liquor. Light and medium shades can be readily and conveniently got by a single dip, but deep shades are best got by repeating the dipping once or twice as occasion demands. Deep shades got by using a strong bath at a single dip are found to rub badly, while by repeated dips the dye gets more into the substance of the fibre, and therefore the colour is more firmly fixed and it rubs less. ”

“ As attention is being directed more and more to the question of the prevention of pollution of rivers, and as the waste liquors from dye-works add to the apparent pollution to a very considerable extent, dyers will have to develop other modes of dyeing than that of stuffing and saddening in one bath. ”

“ When dyeing wool with acid colours which are all absorbed from the dye-liquor, or the bath is exhausted, it is a good plan to run the pieces several more ends so as to ensure thorough fixation of the dye on the cloth. ”

“ Very light shades can also be done on the padding machine. The dye-stuffs of Group (2) , which have been previously enumerated, do not stain the wool at all or only very slightly and are therefore the most suitable. Less bright effects can be produced by simply dyeing the goods in one bath. The wool is first dyed at the boil with the wool dye-stuff in a neutral bath, the steam is then shut off and the cotton dyed by adding the cotton dye-stuff to the bath and dyeing without again heating. ”