Various kinds of wool. Wool from goats. Fleeces. Wool dyeing. Scouring of wool. Silk, preparation for dyeing. Cotton, cleansing and galling of. Indian methods of preparing cotton and linen for dyeing. BANCROFT on the preparing of cotton and linen for dyeing. Linen. On water for dyeing.

ON WOOL.—The quality of wool varies considerably. British wools are of various kinds:—

Highland, Welsh and Irish wools are from small sheep, not far removed from the wild state, with irregular short stapled fleeces.

Forest or Mountain sheep (Herdwick, Exmoor, Blackfaced, Limestone, Cheviot) have better wool, especially the Cheviot which is very thick & good for milling.

Ancient Upland, such as South Down, are smaller sheep than the last named, but the wool is softer and finer.

Long Woolled sheep (Lincolns, Leicester) with long staple wool (record length, 36 in.) and the fleeces weighing up to 12 lbs. The Leicester fleece is softer, finer and better than the Lincoln.

To the end of the 18th century Spanish wool was the finest and best wool in the world. Spanish sheep have since been introduced into various countries, such as Saxony, Australia, Cape Colony, New Zealand, and some of the best wools now come from the colonies.

Alpaca, Vicuna and Llama wools are obtained from different species of South American goats.

Mohair is obtained from the Angora goat of Asia Minor.

Kashmir wool is got from the Thibetan goat.

Camel hair is the soft under wool of the camel, which is shed annually. It is of a brown colour.

The colour of wool varies from white to a very dark brown black, with all shades of fawn, grey and brown in between. The natural colours are not absolutely fast to light but tend to bleach slightly with the sun.

Fleeces are of various kinds, the principal being: Lambs, 3 to 6 months growth, the finest, softest and most elastic of wool. Hogs and Tegs: the first shearing of sheep that have not been shorn as lambs. Wethers: all clips succeeding the first shearing.

Wool comes into the market in the following condition. 1) In the grease, not having been washed and containing all impurities. 2) Washed, with some of the grease removed and fairly clean. 3) Scoured, thoroughly cleaned & all grease removed.

ON WOOL DYEING.—There are four principal methods of dyeing wool.

1st.—The wool is boiled first with the mordant and then in a fresh bath with the dye. This method of dyeing is the most satisfactory and gives brighter and faster colours than the other methods. It is not necessary to throw away the solution after the mordanting has been done, but it can be replenished for a fresh lot of wool; a separate bath is used for the dye.

2nd.—The wool is boiled first with the dye and, when it has absorbed as much of the colour as possible, the mordant is added to the same bath, thus fixing the colour. This is called the "stuffing" and "saddening" method; the "stuffing" being the boiling of the wool with the dye stuff and the "saddening" the fixing the colour by the mordant.

A separate bath can be used for each of these processes, in which case each bath can be replenished and used again for a fresh lot of wool.

3rd.—The wool is boiled with the mordant and dye in the same bath together. The colour, as a rule, is not so fast & good as with a separate bath, though with some dyes a brighter colour is obtained.

4th.—The wool is mordanted, then dyed, then mordanted again (saddened). This method is adopted to ensure an extremely fast colour. The mordant in this case should be used rather sparingly.

Wool can be dyed either in the fleece, in the yarn or in the woven cloth. Raw wool always contains a certain amount of natural grease. This should not be washed out until it is ready for dyeing, as the grease keeps the moth out to a considerable extent. Hand spun wool is always spun in the oil to facilitate spinning. All grease and oil must be scoured out before dyeing is begun, and this must be done very thoroughly or the wool will take the colour unevenly.

The principal detergent known from earliest times is stale urine. In the Highlands this is used in the proportion of 1 part to 5 of water. It is the best scouring agent and leaves the wool soft and elastic. Carbonate of soda is also used. But a good pure soap is the most convenient scouring agent. A suds should be made with hot water, and the wool, which has been soaked in warm water previously, should be well squeezed and worked in the suds till all the grease is removed. This should be done two or three times if needed, and then the wool rinsed out thoroughly in clean water. Soda is apt to make the wool harsh and should be avoided. A little Ammonia added to the washing water helps.

To prevent yarn felting when it is scoured, it should be first steeped in hot water and left to cool. Soft soap is best for long fine wool. Urine for short wools; or urine and soda ash.

Another way of cleansing wool. Make a hot bath of 4 parts water and 1 part urine, enter wool, teasing it and opening it out to admit the full action of the liquid. After 20 minutes immersion, remove and allow to drain. Then rinse in clear running water and allow to dry. Use no soap. The liquid can be used again. The wool often loses one fifth of its weight in the process of washing.

To soften yarn—In a gallon of hot water dissolve half pound of common soda, then add half-pint of sweet oil and stir well. A little of this added to the washing water, for some colours, will soften the yarn.

To bleach wool—The wool is suspended in a closed room on hoops, and under the wool chafing dishes are placed with lighted coals on which powdered sulphur is cast. The room door is afterwards shut so that the smoke may be the longer retained to act on the wool, which is to remain until it is entirely whitened.

ON SILK.—There are two kinds of silk, 1) raw silk (reeled silk, thrown silk, drawn silk), and 2) waste silk or spun silk.

Raw silk is that directly taken from the cocoons. Waste silk is the silk from cocoons that are damaged in some way so that they cannot be reeled off direct. They are therefore carded and spun, like wool or cotton.

Silk in the raw state is covered with a silk gum which must be boiled off before dyeing is begun. It is tied up in canvas bags and boiled up in a strong solution of soap for three or four hours until all the gum is boiled off. If it is yellow gum, the silk is wrought first in a solution of soft soap at a temperature just below boiling point for about an hour, then put into bags and boiled. After boiling, the soap is well washed out.

Generally speaking, the affinity of silk for dyes is similar but weaker in character to that of wool. The general method for dyeing is the same as for wool, except that in most cases lower temperatures are used in the mordanting. In some cases, soaking in a cold concentrated solution of the mordant is sufficient. The dyeing of some colours is also at a low temperature.

Of the preparation of raw silk. For every pound of raw silk, take ¼ lb. of soap; first put the silk into a bag, or so make it up that tangling may be prevented, then let it boil together for 2 hours, after which it must be very well cleansed, and so it is ready to dye all sorts of colours, being first allomed.[1]

How the boiled silk must be allomed. In proportion to every pound of silk, take ¼ lb. of Allom, melt in a little kettle or skillet, and when melted, throw it in to a tub of water, into which put the silk to steep, where let it lie a whole night.[1]

To soften silk after dyeing. Into a large vessel nearly full of water, a solution of soap is poured, in the proportion of from 4 to 5 lbs. of soap for every 110 lbs. of silk. The solution of soap is strained through a cloth into the water and well mixed. The silk is then introduced & left for about quarter of an hour after which it is wrung out and dried.

ON COTTON.—Cotton is the down surrounding the seeds in pods of certain shrubs and trees growing in tropical and semi-tropical countries. It was first introduced into Europe by the Saracens and was manufactured into cloth in Spain in the early 13th century. Cotton cloth was made in England in the early 17th century. The colour of cotton varies from deep yellow to white. The fibre differs in length, the long stapled being the most valued. Cotton is difficult to dye and requires a special preparation. It is first boiled with water till thoroughly softened and wetted. Then alumed in the proportion of 1 of alum to 4 of the cotton (see page 28). It is then galled. The galling is done with different proportions of gall-nuts and other astringents (such as tannic acid, myrobalams, sumach, catechu) according to the quality of the astringents and the effect wished to be obtained. If gall-nuts are used they are bruised, then boiled for about two hours in a quantity of water. The bath is then allowed to cool till the hand can bear it. The cotton is worked well in this solution and then left for 24 hours. After which it is wrung out and dried.

Cotton is sometimes boiled in sour water in order to cleanse it: sometimes an alkaline ley is used: the cotton must be boiled in it for 2 hours, then wrung out and rinsed in clean water and dried. Cotton dyeing has been carried on for centuries in the East. In India "before a cloth is ready to be dyed with a fast colour, it has generally to undergo a preliminary process of preparation more or less elaborate, the different stages of which may be recited as washing, bleaching, dunging, galling, aluming, or mordanting, and again washing." (A Monograph on dyes and dyeing in the Bombay Presidency, by C. G. H. Fawcett, 1896.) It is washed first of all to remove all impurities, whether those naturally belonging to the fibre or those purposely introduced during the processes of spinning and weaving. The bleaching removes grease, etc. This is done in India by the sun, air and moisture. The dunging process consists of passing the cotton through a hot solution of cow dung, which renders the dye fast. This is sometimes replaced by substitutes, such as the phosphates of soda and lime, silicates of soda, etc. The next operation of galling is an important step in the Indian process of dyeing. It is applied to cotton, linen and silk. Vegetable infusions containing tannin are applied to the cloth. Those mostly used are myrobalams, pomegranate rind, tamarisk galls, and pistachio galls. The cloth is then alumed, washed, and is then ready to be dyed.

Bancroft says:—"The fibres of linen or cotton when spun or woven are prepared for the dyer by being first boiled in water with a suitable proportion of potash (which for linen should be made caustic, in order that it may act more strongly upon the oily and resinous matters abounding in flax) and afterwards bleached by exposure upon the grass to sun and air. But as this operation commonly leaves a portion of earthy matter in the linen or cotton, it ought to be soaked or steeped in water soured by sulphuric acid, to dissolve and remove this earthy matter, taking care afterwards to wash or rinse off the acid."

A few of the natural dye stuffs are capable of dyeing cotton direct, without a mordant, such as Turmeric, Barberry bark, safflower, annatto. For other dyes cotton has a special attraction, such as catechu, fustic, logwood.

ON LINEN.—Linen is flax, derived from the decomposed stalks of a plant of the genus of Linum. It grows chiefly in Russia, Belgium, France, Holland, and Ireland. The plants after being gathered are subjected to a process called "retting", which separates the fibre from the decaying part of the plant. In Ireland and Russia this is usually done in stagnant water, producing a dark coloured flax. In Belgium, Holland and France, retting is carried out in running water, and the resulting flax is a lighter colour. Linen is more difficult to dye than cotton, probably on account of the hard nature of the fibre. The same processes are used for dyeing linen as for cotton.

"Linen thread is dyed in the same manner as cotton, only, that previous to its being purged like cotton thread, it is usual to boil it in water, adding for every pound of thread a quarter pound of chopped sorrel. Oil of vitriol is, however, more convenient and better than sorrel."—D'Apligny.

To Bleach Linen.—(For 13 to 15 yards linen) Boil ½ lb. soap and ½ lb. soda in a gallon of water. Put it in a copper and fill up with water, leaving room for the linen to be put in. Put in the linen and bring to the boil. Boil for 2 hours, keeping it under the water and covered. Stir occasionally. Then spread out on the grass for 3 days, watering it when it gets dry. Repeat this boiling and grassing for 3 weeks. Your linen is then pure white.

To bleach linen a cream colour.—Boil ½ lb. soap and ½ lb. soda in a gallon of water. Fill copper up with water and put in linen. Boil for 2 hours. Repeat this once a day for 4 days. The linen should not be wrung out but kept in the water till ready to be put into the fresh bath.

ON WATER.—A constant supply of clean soft water is a necessity for the dyer. Rain water should be collected as much as possible, as this is the best water to use. The dye house should be by a river or stream, so that the dyer can wash with a continuous supply. Spring and well water is as a rule hard, and should be avoided. In washing, as well as in dyeing, hard water is altogether injurious for wool. It ruins the brilliancy of colour, and prevents the dyeing of some colours. Temporary hardness can be overcome by boiling the water (20 to 30 minutes) before using. An old method of purifying water, which is still used by some silk and wool scourers, is to boil the water with a little soap, skimming off the surface as it boils. In many cases it is sufficient to add a little acetic acid to the water.

Berthollet says,—"Whenever, therefore, a water is limpid, when its flow is constant, when it has no sensible taste, and dissolves soap well, it may be regarded as very proper for dyeing." He also goes on to say that for correcting water that is bad, sour water is principally used, that is, water in which bran has been fermented.