Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-06-06
BANDANA nANDKEnCnIEES.
AFnmous indian Product PopuIart SCd
by ScOtchnfen

[From the Clothing and Furnishing Gazette1
All bandana handkerchiefs, which used to
be imported from India in considerable
quantities in the end of the last and begin.
ming of the present century, and wer1 an cs-
sental part of the equipment of the man Of
fashion, were long puzzle to the printers and
dyers Of Great Britain. They were of silk,
and bore white spots on uniformly dyed
red ground. The spots were produced by
tying up the cloth at those parts SO tightly
that when the handkerchief was dipped into
the dye the latter could no; penetrate the
protected parts. When the cloth was dyoI
and the tyugs loosened the white spots re-.
vealcd themselves.
Many attempts were made in Great
Britain to initiate this product of Indian ia
dustry, hut with little success uuill about
| the year 1911, when NJ. Kpchlin invented
he discharge process" of figuring dyed
cloth. This beautiful discovery was At
| once adopted by Mcssrs. Munt,ilh Il Co. of
Glasgow; and so successfully worked Gas TO
pro. uCc goods exceeding in beauty the
famous bandanas OF India Several other
Glasgow firms turned their attention to the
production OF bandauas, and the city ami its
| ncighborhOod has since cnjoye almost
monopoly of this branch of anufacturc
The cloth intended for landanas is dyed
| OF uniform colOr-most commonly red or
bue-and a dozen pieces are laid one over
| another and wound upon roller. The
| roller is placed on bearings behind piess of
| peculiar construction. The press consists of
n bed-plate mounted on hydraulic gear and
an upper plate or "platen.' The printing
| if we may so call it, is done by means of
| two stout plates of lead fixed to the upper
| a Of .
the design is to consist of say. white spots
on the colored ground the exposed surfaces
OF the lead plates have cut into
them series Of dcpressions cIrrc-
| spending to the size and num-
Der of the spots desired. These have to he
accurately placed, so that when the two
plates are brought together the depressi ms
| OF the. one shall fall exactly over those IN
| the other. All being ready, the prcssman
| takes hold of the end of the II. fol web OF
cloth and lays it on the lower plate. The
plates are then brought together with n
pressure of 200 to 800 tons. 1t will be noted
that now the whole body of the cloth is
| tightly pinched except those parts which
come between the depressions in the plates
Communicating with each of these dcprcs
slons are openings through the up.
per plate and channels leading there
to- When the pressure Is full on
| a tap is opened and stream of bleaching
liquid flows along the channels in the upper
! plate land finds its way hy the aperture to
the cloth, through which it passes and makes
its exit by openings in the deprcssions in the
lower plate. To quicken the action OF the
liquid and cause it to penetrate the exposed
parts of the cloth thoroughly, force pump
is employed AS the liquid passes through
the clcth 1t dissolves the connection be.
tween the mordant and the cooring mat
ter and carries off the latter, leaving the
parts it has come into ,contact with
purely white. A press attended by one man
is capable of producing 700 handkerch'els
per day. There is no limit to the variety of
forms that may be given to the cleared
spaces, and many beautiful effects are pro-
duclng by printing various colors into these
The effect of the adoption of This process Of
producing bandanas was lit need scarcely he
said to reduce their cost enormously, and
consequently bring them iuto greatly ex-
tended use.