2684.  The Mordants


For the reasons just given, the acetate or tartrate of iron is preferable to the sulphate; and the acetate or tartrate of alumina to alum.
For reds, yellows, green, and pinks
, aluminous mordants are to be used.
For blacks, browns, puces, and violets
, the acetate or tartrate of iron must be employed.
For scarlets
, use a tin mordant, made by dissolving in strong nitric acid one-eighth of its weight of sal-ammoniac, then adding by degrees one-eighth of its weight of tin, and diluting the solution with one-fourth of its weight of water.

Cunning Men's Cloaks Sometimes Fall.


2685.   Calico, Linen, and Muslin (Blue)


Blue
.—Wash well to remove dressing, and dry; then dip in a strong solution of sulphate of indigo—partly saturated with potash—and hang up. Dry a piece to see if the colour is deep enough; if not dip again.


Saxon Blue
.—Boil the article in alum, and then dip in a strong solution of chemical blue.

2686.   Calico, Linen, and Muslin (Buff)


Buff
.—Boil an ounce of anatto in three quarts of water, add two ounces of potash, stir well, and put in the calico while boiling, and stir well for five minutes; remove and plunge into cold pump water, hang up the articles without wringing, and when almost dry, fold.

2687.  Calico, Linen, and Muslin (Pink)


Pink
.—Immerse in the acetate of alumina mordant, and then in the colouring of a pink saucer.

2688.  Calico, Linen, and Muslin (Green)


Green
.—Boil the article in an alum mordant, and then in a solution of indigo mixed with any of the yellow dyes until the proper colour is obtained.

2689.  Calico, Linen, and Muslin (Yellow)


Yellow
.


  1. Cut potato tops when in flower, and express the juice; steep articles in this for forty-eight hours.
  1. Dip in a strong solution of weld after boiling in an aluminous mordant. Turmeric, fustic, anatto, &c., will answer the same as weld.

2690.  Cloth (Black)


Impregnate the material with the acetate of iron mordant, and then boil in a decoction of madder and logwood.

2691.  Cloth (Madder Red)


Boil the cloth in a weak solution of pearlash—an ounce to a gallon of water,—wash, dry, and then steep in a decoction of bruised nutgalls. After drying it is to be steeped twice in dry alum water, then dried, and boiled in a decoction made of three quarters of a pound of madder to every pound of the article. It should then be taken out and dried, and steeped in a second bath in the same manner. When dyed, the articles should be washed in warm soap and water, to remove a dun-coloured matter given out by the madder.

2692.  Cloth (Scarlet)


Three quarters of a pint of a tin mordant, made by dissolving three pounds of tin in sixty pounds of hydrochloric acid, is added to every pound of lac dye, and digested for six hours. To dye twenty-five pounds of cloth, a tin boiler of seventy-five gallons capacity should be filled nearly full with water, and a fire kindled under it. When the heat is 150° Fahr., half a handful of bran and two ounces of tin mordant are to be thrown into it. The froth which arises is skimmed off, the liquor is made to boil, and two pounds and three quarters of lac dye, previously mixed with a pound and three quarters of the solvent, and fourteen ounces of the tin solvent, are added.


Immediately afterwards two pounds and three quarters of tartar, and a pound of ground sumach, both tied up in a linen bag, are to be added, and suspended in the bath for five minutes. The fire being withdrawn, five gallons of cold water and two pints and three quarters of tin mordant being poured into the bath, the cloth is immersed in it. The fire is then replaced, and the liquid made to boil rapidly for an hour, when the cloth is removed and washed in pure water.

2693.  Cloth (Yellow)


Use No. ii. for calico. Quercitron and weld produce a solid yellow; fustic a very brilliant tint; while turmeric yields a less solid yellow.

2694.  Feathers (Black)


Use the same as for cloth.

2695.  Feathers (Blue)


Every shade may be given by indigo—or dip in silk dye.

2696.  Feathers (Crimson)


Dip in acetate of alumina mordant, then in a boiling-hot decoction of Brazil-wood—and, last of all, pass through a bath of cudbear.

2697.  Feathers (Pink, or Rose-colour)


Pink, or rose-colour, is given by safflower and lemon juice.

2698.   Feathers (Deep Red)


Proceed as for crimson, omitting the cudbear bath.

The Fat Man Knoweth not what the Lean Think.


2699.  Feathers (Yellow)


Mordant with acetate of alumina, and dip in a bath of turmeric or weld.

2700.  Hair (Black)


As the object in view is simply to dye the hair without tingeing the skin, the following will be found the best:—Take equal parts of litharge and lime; mix well, and form into a paste with water, if a black is desired; with milk if brown. Clean the head with a small tooth comb, and then well wash the hair with soda and water to free it from grease; then lay on the paste pretty thick, and cover the head with oilskin or a cabbage-leaf, after which go to bed. Next morning the powder should be carefully brushed away, and the hair oiled.

2701.  Leather (Black)


Use No. iv.
black stain
(see par.
1430
), and polish with oil.

2702.  Gloves (Nankeen)


Steep saffron in boiling-hot soft water for about twelve hours; sew up the tops of the gloves, to prevent the dye staining the insides, wet them over with a sponge dipped in the liquid. A teacupful of dye will do a pair of gloves.

2703.   Gloves (Purple)


Boil four ounces of logwood and two ounces of roche alum in three pints of soft water till half wasted; strain, and let it cool. Sew up the tops, go over the outsides with a brush or sponge twice; then rub off the loose dye with a coarse cloth. Beat up the white of an egg, and rub it over the leather with a sponge. Vinegar will remove the stain from the hands.

2704.  Silk (Black)


The same as for cloth, but black dyeing is difficult.

2705.  Silk (Blue)


  1. Wash quite clean, rinse well, and then dip in a hot solution of sulphate of iron: after a short time take it out and rinse again. Have ready in another vessel a hot solution of prussiate of potash, to which a small quantity of sulphuric acid has been added. Dip the silk in this liquid; on removal rinse in clean water, and expose to the air to dry.
  1. Wash well, rinse, wring out, and then dip in the following:—Boil a pound of indigo, two pounds of woad, and three ounces of alum, in a gallon of water. When the silk is of a proper colour, remove, rinse, and dry.

2706.  Silk (Carnation)


Boil two gallons of wheat and an ounce of alum in four gallons of water; strain through a fine sieve; dissolve half a pound more of alum and white tartar; add three pounds of madder, then put in the silk at a moderate heat.

2707.  Silk (Crimson)


Take about a spoonful of cudbear, put it into a small pan, pour boiling water upon it; stir and let it stand a few minutes, then put in the silk, and turn it over in a short time, and when the colour is full enough, take it out; but if it should require more violet or crimson, add a spoonful or two of purple archil to some warm water; steep, and dry it within doors. It must be mangled, and ought to be pressed.

2708.  Silk (Lilac)


For every pound of silk, take one and a half pounds of archil, mix it well with the liquor; make it boil for a quarter of an hour, dip the silk quickly, then let it cool, and wash it in river water, and a fine half violet, or lilac, more or less full, will be obtained.

2709.  Silk (Madder Red)


Use the dye for
cloth
.

2710.  Silk (Yellow)


Take clear wheat bran liquor fifteen pounds, in which dissolve three quarters of a pound of alum; boil the silk in this for two hours, and afterwards take half a pound of weld, and boil it till the colour is good. Nitre used with alum and water in the first boiling fixes the colour.

2711.  Wool (Blue)


Boil in a decoction of logwood and sulphate or acetate of copper.

2712.  Wool (Brown)


Steep in an infusion of green walnut-peels.

2713.  Wool (Drab)


Impregnate with brown oxide of iron, and then dip in a bath of quercitron bark. It sumach is added, it will make the colour a dark brown.

No Lock will Hold gainst Keys of Gold.


2714.  Wool (Green)


First imbue with the blue, then with the yellow dye.

2715.  Wool (Orange)


Dye first with the red dye for cloth, and then with a yellow.

2716.  Wool (Red)


Take four and a half pounds of cream of tartar, four and a quarter pounds of alum; boil the wool gently for two hours; let it cool, and wash it on the following day in pure water.


Infuse twelve pounds of madder for half an hour with a pound of chloride of tin, in lukewarm water; filter through canvas, remove the dye from the canvas, and put it in the bath, which is to be heated to 100° Fahr.; add two ounces of aluminous mordant, put the wool in, and raise to boiling heat.


Remove the wool, wash, and soak for a quarter of an hour in a solution of white soap in water.

2717.  Wool (Yellow)


Dye with that used for
calico
, &c.

2718.  Dyeing Bonnets


Chip and straw bonnets or hats may be dyed black by boiling them three or four hours in a strong liquor of logwood, adding a little green copperas occasionally. Let the bonnets remain in the liquor all night, then take out to dry in the air. If the black is not satisfactory, dye again after drying. Rub inside and out with a sponge moistened in fine oil. Then block.

2719.  To Dye Hair and Feathers Green


Take of either verdigris or verditer one ounce; gum water, one pint; mix them well, and dip the hair or feathers into the mixture, shaking them well about.

2720.  To Clean White Satin and Flowered Silks


  1. Mix sifted stale bread-crumbs with powder blue, and rub it thoroughly all over the article; then shake it well, and dust it with clean soft cloths. Afterwards, where there are any gold or silver flowers, take a piece of crimson ingrain velvet, rub the flowers with it, which will restore them to their original lustre.
  1. Pass them through a solution of fine hard soap of a moderate heat, drawing them through the hand; rinse in lukewarm water, dry, and finish by pinning out. Brush the flossy or bright side with a clean clothes-brush, the way of the nap. Finish them by dipping a sponge into a size, made by boiling isinglass in water, and rub the wrong side. Rinse out a second time, and brush, and dry near a fire in a warm room.


Silk may be treated in the same way, but not brushed.

2721.  Cleaning Silk, Satins, Coloured Woollen Dresses, &c.


Four ounces of soft soap, four ounces of honey, the white of an egg, and a wineglassful of gin; mix well together, and scour the article with a rather hard brush thoroughly; afterwards rinse it in cold water, leave to drain, and iron whilst quite damp.

2722.  To Clean Black Cloth Clothes


Clean the garments well, then boil four ounces of logwood in a boiler or copper containing two or three gallons of water for half an hour; dip the clothes in warm water and squeeze dry, then put them into the copper and boil for half an hour. Take them out, and add three drachms of sulphate of iron; boil for half an hour, then take them out and hang them up for an hour or two; take them down, rinse them thrice in cold water, dry well, and rub with a soft brush which has had a few drops of olive oil applied to its surface. If the clothes are threadbare about the elbows, cuffs, &c., raise the nap with a teasel or half worn hatter's card, filled with flocks, and when sufficiently raised, lay the nap the right way with a hard brush.

2723.  To Clean Furs


Strip the fur articles of their stuffing and binding, and lay them as nearly as possible in a flat position They must then be subjected to a very brisk brushing, with a stiff clothes-brush; after this any moth-eaten parts must be cut out, and neatly replaced by new bits of fur to match.


Sable, chinchilla, squirrel, fitch, &c., should be treated as follows: Warm a quantity of new bran in a pan, taking care that it does not burn, to prevent which it must be actively stirred. When well warmed, rub it thoroughly into the fur with the hand. Repeat this two or three times: then shake the fur, and give it another sharp brushing until free from dust.


White furs, ermine, &c., may be cleaned as follows:—Lay the fur on a table, and rub it well with bran made moist with warm water; rub until quite dry, and afterwards with dry bran. The wet bran should be put on with flannel, and the dry with a piece of book muslin.


The light furs, in addition to the above, should be well rubbed with magnesia, or a piece of book muslin, after the bran process.


Furs are usually much improved by stretching, which may be managed as follows: To a pint of soft water add three ounces of salt, dissolve; with this solution, sponge the inside of the skin (taking care not to wet the fur) until it becomes thoroughly saturated; then lay it carefully on a board with the fur side downwards, in its natural position; then stretch as much as it will bear, and to the required shape, and fasten with small tacks. The drying may be accelerated by placing the skin a little distance from the fire or stove.

Gold is no Balm to a Wounded Spirit.


2724.  Cleansing Feathers of their Animal Oil


The following receipt gained a premium from the Society of Arts:—Take for every gallon of clean water one pound of quicklime, mix them well together, and when the undissolved lime is precipitated in fine powder, pour off the clean lime water for use. Put the feathers to be cleaned in another tub, and add to them a quantity of the clean lime water, sufficient to cover them about three inches when well immersed and stirred about therein. The feathers, when thoroughly moistened, will sink, and should remain in the lime water three or four days; after which the foul liquor should be separated from them, by laying them in a sieve.


The feathers should be afterwards well washed in clean water, and dried upon nets, the meshes of which may be about the fineness of cabbage nets. The feathers must be from time to time shaken on the nets, and, as they get dry, they will fall through the meshes, and must be collected for use. The admission of air will be serviceable in drying. The process will be completed in three weeks. When thus prepared, the feathers need only be beaten to get rid of the dust.

2725.  To Clean White Ostrich Feathers


Four ounces of white soap, cut small, dissolved in four pints of water, rather hot, in a large basin; make the solution into a lather, by beating it with birch rods, or wires. Introduce the feathers, and rub well with the hands for five or six minutes. After this soaping, wash in clean water, as hot as the hand can bear. Shake until dry.

2726.   Cleaning Straw Bonnets


They may be washed with soap and water, rinsed in clear water, and dried in the air. Then wash them over with white of egg well beaten, Remove the wire before washing. Old straw bonnets may be picked to pieces, and put together for children, the head parts being cut out.

2727.  To Bleach a Faded Dress


Wash it well in hot suds, and boil it until the colour seems to be gone, then wash, and rinse, and dry it in the sun; if still not quite white, repeat the boiling.

2728.  Bleaching Straw Bonnets, &c.


Wash them in pure water, scrubbing them with a brush. Then put them into a box in which has been set a saucer of burning sulphur. Cover them up, so that the fumes may bleach them.

2729.  Clothes Balls


Take some fullers' earth, dried till it crumbles to powder: moisten it with the juice of lemon, add a small quantity of pearlash, work and knead carefully together till it forms a thick paste; make into balls, and dry them in the sun. Moisten the spot on clothes with water, then rub it with the ball. Wash out the spot with pure water.

O Heart! But Try it Once;— 'Tis Easy to Be...


2730.  To Wash China Crêpe Scarves, &c.


If the fabric be good, these articles of dress can be washed as frequently as may be required, and no diminution of their beauty will be discoverable, even when the various shades of green have been employed among other colours in the patterns. In cleaning them, make a strong lather of boiling water; suffer it to cool; when cold or nearly so, wash the scarf quickly and thoroughly, dip it immediately in cold hard water in which a little salt has been thrown (to preserve the colours), rinse, squeeze, and hang it out to dry in the open air; pin it at its extreme edge to the line, so that it may not in any part be folded together: the more rapidly it dries the clearer it will be.

2731.  To Wash a White Lace Veil


Put the veil into a strong lather of white soap and very clear water, and let it simmer slowly for a quarter of an hour; take it out and squeeze it well, but be sure not to rub it: rinse it twice in cold water, the second time with a drop or two of liquid blue. Have ready some very clear weak gum arabic water, or some thin starch, or rice water; pass the veil through it, and clear it by clapping; then stretch it out evenly, and pin it to dry on a linen cloth, making the edge as straight as possible, opening out all the scallops, and fastening each with pins. When dry, lay a piece of thin muslin smoothly over it, and iron it on the wrong side.

2732.  Blond Lace


Blond lace may be revived by breathing upon it, and shaking and flapping it. The use of the iron turns the lace yellow.

2733.  Washing Bed Furniture, &c.


Before putting into the water, see that you shake off as much dust as possible, or you will greatly increase your labour. Use no soda, or pearlash, or the articles will lose their colour. Use soft water, not hot, but warm: have plenty of it. Rub with mottled soap. On wringing out the second liquor, dip each piece into cold hard water for finishing. Shake out well, and dry quickly. If starch is desired, it may be stirred into the rinsing water.

2734.  Washing with Lime (1)


Half a pound of soap; half a pound of soda; quarter of a pound of quick-lime. Cut up the soap and dissolve it in half a gallon of boiling water; pour half a gallon of boiling water over the soda, and enough boiling water over the quick-lime to cover it. The lime must be quick and fresh; if quick, it will bubble up when the hot water is poured over it. Prepare each of these in separate vessels; put the dissolved lime and soda together, and boil them for twenty minutes; then pour them into a jar to settle.

2735.  Washing with Lime (2)


After having made the Preparation, set aside the flannels and coloured articles, as they
must not
be washed in this way. They may be washed in the usual way while the others are boiling. The night before, the collars and wristbands of shirts, the feet of stockings, &c., should be rubbed well with soap and set to soak. In the morning pour ten gallons of water into the copper, and having strained the mixture of lime and soda well, taking great care not to disturb the settlings, put it, together with the soap, into the water, and make the whole boil before putting in the clothes.


A plate should be placed at the bottom of the copper, to prevent the clothes from burning. Boil each lot of clothes from half an hour to an hour, then rinse them well in cold blue water. When dry they will be beautifully white. The same water will do for three lots. Wash the finer things first.