The record-union., 1891-05-23
DEEP DYEING SECRETS.
The Trade is One Not Easily Mastered
Description of the Process.

SEASON IndU your clothes shall DE OF a GER
tain hue which l tell you of. and forth
with all her subjects setabout to obey her
behest, for this monarch has loyal sub
JectS who would not think of disObeying
her call. Her devotees bother their heads
to get the proper dresses of the correct
color in order that they be not forced to
remain at home because they have moth
ing to wear, which is (even cynics will
admit it, an entirely unrefned state of at
fairs, and no person could go out under
such circumstances. Even if literally
there are garments in plenty in the ward
robe, yet If these are not of the faShiona-
bic color the disgrace is felt to be as great
as though there were none. Here is an
overheard conversation:
w Ill your mamma attend Miss BIS
tea ?''
No; she has nothing to wear"
But how about that beautiful surah
which she got?''
"Oh, she has worn it twice already"
Poor wards Of McAllister Many a
pocketbook OF yours would be much
lower than it is il it were not for a GER
tain convenient man who curtails ex-
penses in this regard. ''Oh, papa, I need
new dress, my Old ones are so horrid."
Can not help you, my darling your
mother would have the plumber come
around" So Maize cOgitates and she hits
upon the idea Of going to some establish
| ment where she can have her clothes
dyed to make them look as she wishes.
But that is not the only reason why the
dyer lives. 1t can be easily understood
why the people want the colorS of their
clothes changed. Many a garment that
would otherwise be thrown away as use
less because it does not suit the wearers
complexion is sent to the dyer, and comes
| forth fine and proper to be worn.
The reporter went to see q prominent
DIVER in this city Yesterday
People have an idea" said he, that
dyeing is like painting-that all to be
done is immerSe the cloth in cOlored
water and let it lie there for a little while
and the operation is over. That is mis- :.
take, and if it were not, every one who
wished could dye his own clothes with
out my assistance, while as the matter
stands | myself would not undertake to
dye piece of cloth, for, although / have
been in the business for more than thirty
years, | have not been constantly prac-
ticing this art, and therefore ana no
longer an expert. | have man here who
works in black dyes continually, and he
is skilled laborer, yet he can not dye
red goods, nor can he decide whether
piece OF goods can be dyed red, although
he might be able to tell in instant whether
it could be colored black.
''As soon as a piece of goods is brought
or sent us we mark it and then send il
!
containing the desired color and ask him
whether the goods can be tinged the
shade asked for. If he says that he does
not know, then, if possible, we test a
sample of the goods. If that is not done
we do not promise, for there are certain
pieces of cloth that will deceive any dyer
and these are his bane | remember a
piece Of silk which I dyed; it was to be
brown, | believe. 1t seemed to me all
of one material, and / proceeded to treat
it so. When it came from the vat half of
it was dyed and the other half remained
in its original color. This showed that
one part of the cloth had been made and
| dyed in different way than the other
half Of it, yet they had been so closely in
terwoyen as to defy detection"
'What do you do with the goods after
they have been marked and you have de-
cided how to color them ?''
well, If necessary, we clean them and
then put them into mordant which pre-
pares the goods for soaking in the tanks
filled with dye stuffs. The mordant is
made by putting into an iron tank water
and acid. All the water must be filtered,
and though there is an awful lot of mud
in Ohio River water, yet as soon as the
dirt IS removed the Ohio furnishes the
finest water for ourl purposes. And this
is fact which has been remarked to me
/ by competent men from all over the
country and from various other countries.
too. The acids vary for the various sorts
Of cloth. The mordant must have a
double attraction for organic tibers and
coloring matter, so as to prepare the
goods properly. For the dyer, goods are
divided into animal and vegetable. and
according to these two broad classifica-
tons he prepares his mordant. Again.
there are some acids which act on some
vegetable or animal stuffS better than
on others. We always use tannin
for cotton; Dichromate of potash alum
and tin for wool; alum and iron for silk
and satin. Tin makes a good mordant
for cochineal, iron for bluffs, drabs and
blacks, antimOny for printed aniline
colors. The goods are put into these
mordants and left for an hour, after which
/ they are left for day to dry before being
| dyed. Then they are put into the dye
watts, and skillful man handles them so
that they are dyed evenly. You can see
that / have partitions between the watts.
| That is because dyes are very sensitive to
each other, some being easily affected by
the other, SO that it is advisable TO keep
| them apart lest some drops of one tall
into the other. After the goods have been
/ in their watts for several days they are
taken out and the dyeing is complete If
| the original colors have been discharged
or if they have properly united with the
new color. the result is good. If we hap
pen to be disappointed we can always
/ dye clothes darker color, but it is doubt
/ full whether they can be tinged with
| lighter dyes.
''There is one little point which I for
| got regarding dyeing. 1t is that wooden
1 goods, 4. e., animal stuffs, are dyed when
the water is at the boiling point, silks
and cottons at a much lower tempera-
| ture.''
II suppose you have good many
chemicals?"
Yes; we use about everything which
! is sold in wholesale drugstore, and it
costs quite respectable amount, yet not
| as much as formerly. Indigo is the only
| one that has retained its original high
/ price, and that is because it cannot be re-
/ placed by aniline colors. / have paid
/ 81 30 for an ounce of cochineal, while to-
! day it is worth but forty cents, because of
! the aniline colors which replace it. Ami
! line dyes have these advantages, they are
| brighter and cheaper than the dyes we
| formerly used, but then, again, they are
| not as permanent.
This forgiveness of colors is a good
| thing for us, because it makes people get
their clothes dyed more often. 1t is queer
what notions people hold in regard to
( black. They think it rots goods, and idea
/ for which there is no foundation. It does
not make much difference to us, for black
| is the most difficult color to dye, while
white Except bleached) is the easiest
! Dying does not weaken the fiber of goods.
| but, of course, if the goods are old they
can not be expected to hold together as
we'll as new goods"
"What is the most difficult article to
dye2"
"You see, in dyeing, we do not cover
| the old color as a painter does, but we
either discharge it or make it unite with
! the new color, and consequently what
ever tends to hinder that interferes with
the dyeing, as when the fiber is too closely
! twisted. Dresses are more difficult than
mems suits, because they are generally of