Dyeworks

“ The art of dyeing consists in impregnating flexible fibres with any color which may be desired, in such a manner, that it will remain permanent, under the common exposures to which it may be liable.
2. The union of the coloring matter with the fibres receiving the dye, is purely chemical, and not mechanical, as in the case of the application of paints. Wool has the greatest attraction for coloring substances; silk comes next to it; then cotton; and, lastly, hemp and flax. These materials, also, absorb dye-stuffs in different proportions. ”

“ The beginner is apt to think that to get a full color requires a concentrated dye-bath. Experience will teach him that, when the dyes are properly chosen for his fabric, a full color is obtained better by a longer treatment in a dilute bath, with additions of dye as mentioned above. In this way nearly if not all of the color put into the bath is absorbed by the cloth. This serves for economy of color, makes observation and control of the process easier, simplifies the problem of rinsing, and improves the quality of the dyeing. It is the only way dyeing to shade can be accomplished. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Salmon.--Prepare the dye-bath with 1/4 oz. Fast Acid Violet R, 1/2 oz. Orange G, 10 lb. Glauber's salt, 1 lb. sulphuric acid. Work at the boil to shade.
The mordant reds are fairly numerous, and include both natural and artificial red dye-stuffs. The principle or property on which the application of this group of dye-stuffs to the dyeing of textile fabrics depends is that they are of an acid character and combine with metallic oxides, like those of iron, aluminium, or chromium to form insoluble coloured bodies, or "colour lakes" as they are called. ”

“ Nearly all the colors used in dyeing being of vegetable origin, it is necessary to apply some substances to the fabrics to be dyed which shall fix the colors in the grain. Of these (called “mordants”) the chief are acetate of alumina, acetate of iron, and chloride of tin (substances well known to chemists) , which have the property of making the coloring matter insoluble, so that it cannot be washed out.
There are various ways of dyeing. If the fabric has to be dyed all one color, it is dipped in the mordant, dried, and afterwards boiled in a solution of the dye-stuff. ”

“ The flowers and spots are purple, the leaves and stems blue.
Spraying liquid dye with an atomizer permits not only of the usual direct coloring of the design areas, but also of resist stenciling, in which a light design is produced on a dark background. A small dark design on a large light background is stringy and thin. The light seems to eat into the edge of the design and minimize its importance. On the other hand, a small light design on a large dark background is magnified in importance. ”

“ They dry the root in the sun, and afterwards crush it and soak it in water, and the water so coloured becomes the pigment to be used. The black stain is obtained in the same way as that used for face-staining. These dyes are put on to the cloth with the fingers, which the men dip into the dye, or with feathers. In making a design they do not copy from a pattern placed before them, nor do they first trace the design on the cloth. ”

“ TESTING OF THE COLOUR OF DYED FABRICS.
It is frequently desirable that dyers should be able to ascertain with some degree of accuracy what dyes have been used to dye any particular sample of dyed cloth that has been offered to them to match. In these days of the thousand-and-one different dyes that are known it is by no means an easy thing to do, and when, as is most often the case, two or three dye-stuffs have been used in the production of a shade, the difficulty is materially increased. ”

“ To dye a pale color, put to each quart of soft warm water that is to be used for the dye, ten drops of the above composition—if you wish a deep color, more will be necessary. Put in the articles without crowding, and let them remain in it till of a good color—the dye-stuff should be kept warm—take the articles out without wringing, drain as much of the dye out of them as possible, then hang them to dry in a shady, airy place. They should be dyed when the weather is dry—if not dried quick, they will not look nice. ”

“ It may be added that the leading firms carrying school art supplies offer dyes in suitable form especially adapted for the problems in pattern dyeing.
Perhaps a few suggestions to the less experienced of our readers will prove helpful. All of the good dyes manufactured today are in a very pure form. The use of one dye alone often gives results that are crude without any subtle beauty. It is frequently necessary to apply the principle well known to all workers in color, that colors are softened and beautified by small admixtures of their compliments ”

“ 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. ”

“ Care should be taken that the skeins of yarn or swatches of cloth are exactly equal in weight, that the same volume of water is placed in each of the dye-pots, that the same amounts of sulphate of soda or other dye assistants are added, that the quantities of dye-stuffs and solutions used are equal, in fact that in all respects the conditions of dyeing are exactly the same, such in fact being the vital conditions in making comparative dye-tests of the actual dyeing strength of several samples of dyes. ”

“ 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. ”

“ From the above we discover that the art of applying and fixing colours in dyeing depends on the chemical affinity between the cloth and the dyeing principle: and accordingly as this is more or less strong, so is the facility with which the substance is coloured, and on this the deepness of the dye depends: for frequently one kind of cloth will be found to receive no colour at all, whilst another will receive from the same composition a deep tinge. ”

“ You must be especially careful in picking out a dye that will suit your material. White, of course, can be dyed any color. Pale shades can be dyed darker or changed into other slightly deeper colors. A material of one color dyed with a dye of a second color will emerge from the fray an entirely different shade from either. For instance, if you dye a yellow material with a light blue dye, you will get green; while the same light blue over light red makes purple, and over light green makes peacock. ”

“ It will be convenient to point out here that a very large proportion of the shades dyed on wool and other fabrics are obtained, not by the use of a single dye-stuff, although this should always be done, whenever possible, but by the combination of two or more dye-stuffs together in various proportions. It is truly astonishing what a great range of shades can thus be dyed by using two or three dyes suitably mixed together, and one of the things which go to making a successful dyer and colourist is the grasping of this fact by careful observation, and working accordingly. ”

“ Since all parts of the fabric must have equal opportunity to be dyed, in order that a level dyeing be obtained, it is absolutely necessary that the goods be worked as long as they remain in the dye-bath. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Handicraft workers should make their own 6 colours. Leather workers should dye their own leather, the embroiderers their own silks and wools, the basket makers their own materials, the weavers and spinners their own flax, cotton and wool; and until they do this the best work will not be done. This is the necessity for the present. If any craft worker wants sound colour he must make it for himself, he cannot get it done for him by artists. The hope for the future is that dyeing may be reinstated as a craft, co-operating with the other crafts and practiced by craftsmen. ”

“ Fine wools take up (p. 082) more colour than coarse, and, consequently, even from the same bath, will come out a deeper shade; if a fabric, therefore, contains the two kinds of cotton, or the two kinds of wool, they will not dye up evenly.
In the preceding sections brief notes have been given about the principal methods of dyeing wool, with some indications of the dyes which can be used under each method. In the succeeding sections will be given a number of recipes showing how, and with what dye-stuffs, various colours, shades and tints can be dyed upon wool. ”

“ Nothing but practice will qualify you for this and all pattern dyeing: the way, and the only good way to obtain practice, is to work with all possible regularity. In the dyeing of fancy cloths in the clothing districts of Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, and other fine cloth manufactories, the manufacturers who dye their own cloths, as well as dyers of the greatest eminence, always number, measure, weigh, and time all the component parts of their various processes of dyeing. ”

“ The variety of these fabrics has of late years considerably increased, which increase may be largely ascribed to the introduction of the direct dyeing colouring matters--the Diamine dyes, the Benzo dyes, the Congo and the Zambesi dyes; for in the dyeing of wool-cotton fabrics they have made a revolution. The dyer of union fabrics, that is fabrics composed of wool and cotton, was formerly put to great straits to obtain uniform shades on the fabrics supplied to him owing to the difference in the affinity of the fibres for the dye-stuffs then known. ”

“ Many recipes can be given for the dyeing of basic dyes on cotton; for the range of tints and shades of all colours [Pg 151] that can be produced by their means is truly great. Typical recipes will be given showing what basic dyes are available and how they can be combined together. The dyer, however, who knows how to produce shades by combining one dye-stuff with another is able to get many more shades than space will permit to be given here.
Sky Blue.—Mordant with 1 lb. tannic acid and 1⁄2 lb. tartar emetic, then dye with 21⁄2 oz. Victoria blue B, and 1⁄2 oz. ”

“ This alternation from one roller to the other is continued as long as is deemed necessary, much depending on the depth of colour which is being dyed, some pale shades may only take two or three ends, deeper shades may take more. 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 ends so as to ensure thorough fixation of the dye on the cloth. ”

“ The extensive use of dyeing as a means of printing textiles dates from the 19th century, when the modern chemical dyes were discovered. There is still a prejudice among some people against the use of chemical dyes for art work. This seems to be based upon the undisputed fact that in the early days of the dye industry some of the colors were so crude and harsh that people fell into the delusion that all harsh colors were due to chemical dyes. ”

“ This is an economical proceeding in many cases, especially in working with many of the old tannin materials like sumac, divi-divi, myrobolams, and the modern direct dyes which in 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 [Pg 240] be used again for another lot of goods, simply by adding fresh material to make up for that absorbed by the first lot of goods. ”

“ Of course, the dye when painted in, is cool and the colours will not be as fast as when the fibres of the material slowly absorb the hot dye. Among other disadvantages, is the fact that the spot which is to be coloured, always has to be first outlined in wax to prevent the dye from spreading; this gives a light outline round a dark surface, which, while not spoiling some designs has an unpleasing effect more often than not. ”