A Concise Way Of Dyeing Colours
I will now add the way to dye the colours, for pighair, mohair, hackles,
&c., in a concise and summary manner, to avoid giving trouble in too
many words, and the quantities of ingredients I have given before, which
would be superfluous to mention over so often, and which the dyer must
know by this time. The great art is in knowing the quantities that each
dye requires to obtain the exact colour, and this may be known by a
/>
close observation to the rules I have given.
Fustic and alum water will dye yellow, the hackles dipped three times in
fresh stuff. Weld, turmeric, and fenugreek, will give a yellow, boiled
in alum water, and the hackles dipped often, till they are the proper
colour.
These may be dyed without tartar at pleasure.
Brazil-wood, boiled till you have a strong decoction, strain off the
juice, then add alum water, boil the hackles in it slowly for a day or
two, and it will produce good reds. If the colour of the Brazil-wood be
very strong, there may be reds obtained in an hour's boiling. This is a
wood which is of a hard nature, and it is difficult to extract the
colour from it, although a good dye.
A claret may be produced from Brazil-wood mixed with red archil, and
boiled in the usual manner, dipped in potash liquor, or brilla will act
in the same way to strike the colour; use hard water.
A fiery brown may be made from fustic and turmeric boiled together with
alum and a little crystal of tartar, (soft water for this dye), and then
dip in liquor of potash.
A cinnamon brown may be made with a little madder, or stone crottle,
boiled with alum and tartar, with a little turmeric to finish it.
A good blue may be had by boiling the hackles with alum water, and add a
spoonful of the liquid blue; this is done by putting some oil of vitriol
into a bottle with a little water, and then the indigo, powdered, which
will dissolve in twenty-four hours, and be ready for use. (I have
mentioned this twice before, as I am very particular.)
For a purple, dye blue first, then add the red dye, and dip it in
potash; when the hackles, &c., are left long in the red, it is more of
a wine purple.
To have a good green, dye blue first, then boil in turmeric and fustic
bark, with alum and tartar, as usual. You may have any shade of green by
noticing the process in the dye pot.
To dye an orange, first make it a turkey red with Brazil-wood and alum
water, then finish with turmeric and fustic till the colour pleases you.
To dye a golden olive, boil sumach and turmeric with alum water, add a
little potash and copperas, and finish with new turmeric and a little
potash.
Green olive may be made with a little more copperas and verdigris.
Sooty olive is made by adding to the first a little alder or oak bark,
and finishing with turmeric and alum water.
An amber may be made with red, and finished with yellow dye; the first
with stone crottle or madder, and finish with turmeric bark; the yellow
with alum water. All fishing colours should be dyed yellow first with
alum and crystal of tartar, but claret.
Claret may be made from Brazil-wood, barked first in alum water, adding
new Brazil three or four times fresh to the liquor, and simmer slowly
for a day or two.
A fiery brown may be made from lima or peth-wood, barked with turmeric
and alum water.
A golden yellow may be had from citrine bark, boiled in new stuff three
times slowly, bark with alum, and dip in potash or brilla.
All blues may be dipped in potash, to sadden the colour.
A crottle or red orange, boil madder and stone crottle together, and
bark with alum water; the madder will do if the crottle cannot be had.
The crottle grows on stones in rocky places, like red moss.
An orange may be had by dyeing yellow in strong liquid three times
fresh; bark with alum, and dip in potash.
A Green Drake may be made by dyeing a good yellow first, and adding a
few drops of the blue decoction from the bottle of prepared blue dye,
this comes to the green drake colour; add a little copperas to make a
green dark or light, as you please.
A golden olive may be made by dyeing brown red hackles in fustic and a
little copperas, and dipped in potashes, finished in turmeric and alum;
you will have a sooty olive by adding but very little of the turmeric
root.
A sooty olive may be made by dyeing black hackles in yellow first with
alum water, add fresh yellow stuff three times to the dye pot, and dip
them in potashes.
A wine purple may be made from light dyed blue hackles, put them in the
red dye of madder, Brazil, or cochineal, and dip them twice in potashes.
Liver-coloured hackles may be had from brown red hackles, barked with
alum, and boiled in Brazil-wood juice, dipped in liquor of potash.
A bright olive may be made from fustic and oak bark, adding a little
turmeric and alum water.
A fiery cinnamon may be had from yellow dye, Brazil juice, and madder
mixed, boil these well, and add a little turmeric with alum.
A golden crottle may be made from stone crottle and yellow dyes with
turmeric and alum water. The stone crottle is best for all golden
colours, but as it may not be easily got at, use madder instead; golden
orange may be had from the above, adding a little potashes, and boil
very slowly.
A pea green may be had by dyeing yellow first, and add a few drops out
of the blue dye bottle, till it comes to the shade, it may be darkened
to a leek or bottle green.
A stone blue,--bark the hackle with alum, and add to the alum water as
much of the prepared dye out of the bottle as will make it dark enough,
this may be easily seen from the appearance of the liquor in the dye
pot.
A Prussian blue is done in the same way, keeping out the indigo, and
adding the Prussian blue.
Dip a red into potashes and you have a light wine purple; blue and red
dye is best.
Dip a good yellow in potashes, well boiled and stir, and you will have
an orange. A little tartar is good for all colours but black.
Sumach, logwood, iron liquor, and copperas, will form a black. Boil a
small quantity of copperas with logwood, and it will dye gut properly.
A tawny cinnamon may be dyed from stone crottle or madder, mixed with
turmeric, alum, and a little tartar, these must be gently boiled in
fresh stuff, adding a little copperas.