IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DYEING OF WOOLLEN AND OTHER YARNS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Henry Rogers, of Stroud, in the County of
Gloucester, Dyer, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DYEING OF
WOOLLEN AND OTHER YARNS."
J
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Henry Rogers at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 25th November 1880.
JAMES HENRY ROGERS, of Stroud, in the County of Gloucester, Dyer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DYEING OF WOOLLEN AND OTHER YARNS."
"
This Invention relates to the production of what is known as "tie" and "dye
yarns, which are dyed of two or more colors, or have the natural tinge of the fibre
preserved to represent a second color. Yarns of this class when woven into cloth
present a speckled or variegated appearance, and it is an object with the manu-
facturer to maintain an uniformity throughout the piece in this speckled or
variegated appearance.
In order however to obtain this end it is necessary that the stopping out of the
color during the dyeing process should be uniform throughout the length of the
yarn. This has hitherto been difficult of attainment, and it is for the purpose of
producing this result in an uniform and inexpensive manner that the present
improvements are designed.
In dyeing yarns I avail myself of the fact that the hanks into which they are
formed are of an uniform length. If therefore these hanks are connected together
end to end in a manner to resist the action of the dye liquor to which they are to
be subjected the portion stopped out will occur at uniform intervals in the length
of yarn composing the hank. The hanks I propose to tie together by looping,
after the manner of the chain stitch; thus at the opposite ends of each hank
there will be a part of the yarn so tied and bound as effectually to prevent access
of the dye liquor thereto. When these uncoloured parts are required to be more
frequent I may fold the hanks into half their length, and secure the hanks into a
roping by the chain stitch tie; or instead of this interlocking of the hanks I may
secure them together by clamps or bands, which will form a resist to the dye.

page_text: The length of hanks thus produced I submit to the action of the dye bath (the
yarn having been previously mordanted when required), and after the dyeing I
subject the hanks in their still connected state to washing and scouring, to free
them from the superfluous dye liquor.
When the yarn is required to have two colors, which is often the case with
woollen yarns, I take yarn previously dyed, say, for example, of a black color, and
having connected the hanks together in the way above explained I submit the
length of hanks to the action of liquid chemicals to alter its tone, and, if desired,
pass it to a dye bath either to itensify that tone or still further vary the tint.
After washing and scouring the hanks they may be conveniently submitted to a
drying operation before separating them for use. In the last mentioned example
each bank when disengaged will be found to retain the original black color at
the temporarily connected portions, the exposed portions only having been subjected
to the action of the chemical bath, and the subsequent dyeing bath.
By the use of yarns prepared in this manner a kind of soft or undefined pattern
may be produced both in woven and knitted fabrics, such pattern being distributed
evenly over the surface of the fabric.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James Henry Rogers in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
24th May 1881.
JAMES HENRY ROGERS, of Stroud, in the County of Gloucester, Dyer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DYEING OF WOOLLEN AND OTHER YARNS."
This Invention relates to the production of what is known as "tie and dye"
yarns, which are dyed of two or more colors or have the natural tint of the
fibre preserved to represent a second color. Woven cloth produced from such yarns
presents a speckled or variegated appearance, and it is an object with the manu-
facturer to maintain an uniformity throughout the piece in this speckled or
variegated appearance.
In order, however, to obtain this end it is necessary that the stopping out of the
color during the dyeing process should be uniform throughout the length of the yarn.
This has hitherto been difficult of attainment, and it is for the purpose of producing
this result in an inexpensive manner that the present improvements are designed.
In dyeing yarns I avail myself of the fact that the hanks into which they are
formed are of an uniform length. If therefore these hanks are connected together
end to end in a manner to resist the action of the dye liquor to which they are to
be subjected the portion stopped out will occur at uniform intervals in the length
of yarn composing the hank. The hanks I propose to tie together by looping after
'the manner of the chain stitch. Thus at the opposite ends of each bank there
will be a part of the yarn so tied and bound as effectually to prevent access of the
dye liquor thereto.

page_text: When these uncoloured parts are required to be more frequent I may fold the
hanks into half their length and secure the hanks into a roping by the chain
stitch tie.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn these two plans of linking together
hanks of yarn; at Fig. 1 the hanks at their full length are represented as looped
together to form a band or chain of hanks, and at Fig. 2 the hanks doubled to half
their length are shewn as linked together to form a chain. In the former case the
parts stopped out by this linking of the hanks together will occur twice in every
coil of the hank, and in the latter case the stopped out parts will occur four times
in every coil of the bank.
This modification it will be understood will produce a characteristic change in
the appearance of the fabric manufactured from the yarn, but other effects or
changes may be introduced by varying the character of the looping at different
stages of the process of dyeing; this will be readily understood from the following
explanation.
In some cases I take the hanks of yarn in a dry state after they have been
scoured, and having linked them together, as shewn at Fig. 1, I pass them under
When the chain of hanks
the pressure of a mangle, and thereby tighten the knots.
thus prepared is submitted to the dye bath the knots will be found to form a strong
resist, and prevent the penetration of the dye liquor.
Another method is to tie the knots loosely and in that state to submit the chain
of hanks to the dye bath, then (after the first bath) to pull the knots tight, or pass
the chain of hanks under a mangle to consolidate the knots, and then to proceed
with the dyeing; or the tightening of the knots may be delayed until the last dip
is to be given.
Again, the hanks may be tied tightly together when dry, and after the first dip
their knots may be slackened at any subsequent stage of the dyeing processes to
obtain a second or a third color or tint. Instead of interlocking the hank, as
illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, I may secure them together by clamps or bands,
which will form a resist to the dye while converting the hanks into a chain.
This modification is illustrated at Fig. 3, where A is a wooden clamp in which
the ends of two hanks are firmly secured; Fig. 4 shews this clamp open with the
hanks in place. The clamp is composed by preference of two blocks of wood
grooved on their inner faces to receive the ends of the hanks which are to be
connected together. To facilitate the insertion of the hanks in the grooves guide
pins standing up from the inner face of the blocks are provided, as shewn at a.
When the banks are in place the clamp is made fast by a clamping nut and bolt B.
By the use of a series of these clamps a band or chain of hanks of any required
length may be formed. If required, packing strips may be laid between the blocks
of the clamp to effect a more perfect protection of the enclosed portions of the yarn
against the action of the dye liquor or the chemicals employed in coloring the
yarns.
The chain of hanks produced in either of the above mentioned ways I submit to
the action of the dye bath (the yarn having been previously mordanted when
required), and after the dyeing, I subject the tanks in their still connected state to
washing and scouring to free them from the superfluous dye liquor.
When the yarn is required to have two colors, which is often the case with
woollen yarns, I take yarn in the form of hanks, and previously dyed of a black
color susceptible of alteration by the usual chemical agents, or an equivalent color,
and having connected the hanks together in the way above explained, I submit the
chain of hanks to the action of liquid chemicals to alter the tone, and, if desired,
pass the chain to a dye bath, either to intensify that tone or still further to vary
the tint.
The varieties of effect which I am enabled to obtain by the use of my Invention
I will now furthur illustrate in connection with the use of tight and loose knots in
the same chain of hanks; I take hanks linked together in couples by a tight knot
and dye them of a light shade.

page_text: The coupled hanks I connect with others by means of loose knobs, and submit the
chain of hanks to the dyeing process.. The result of this treatment is a portion
reserved of the shade of which the hanks were first dyed, and a further variation
to form a third shade may be obtained by drawing tight the loose connections and
re-dyeing.
Again, when a larger variety of tints is required, I form the hanks of colored and
uncolored yarns.
I attain this end in the following manner :-I take a white and a colored cop
and pass the thread of one cop through the centre of the other and wind them
together into banks. This produces a slight twist or doubling of the yarns. A
chain of such hanks I treat by either of the last two described processes, the bath
employed containing such alkalis, acids, or salts as shall partially discharge the
colored threads, and fix the coloring matter discharged therefrom upon the white
threads. For example, a black thread dyed with logwood thus twisted with a white,
and the hank subjected to the action of chromic acid (by working in a solution of five
per cent. on the weight of the yarn of bichromate of potash, to which has been
added an equal weight of oil of vitriol) the black will be reduced to a brown, and
the white will be colored drab by the discharged black dye.
The chromic acid will then serve as a mordant for the parts exposed to it; and
when other knots shall have been tied and the whole roping rinsed and dyed with
dyeware, the knots last formed will save brown and drab sections.
When all the knots are parted the yarn will exhibit sections of black and white
twist, and brown and drab twist on a ground claret and red, olive and yellow, blue
and violet, &c., the color varying with the dyeware last employed. This method
is capable then of giving six distinct shades on black and white twist.
The fineness of the twist may of course be altered afterwards as desired, and
also the count of the yarn by suitable means.
Having dyed a roping of white hanks and separated it into pairs of hanks joined
with a "chain stitch" knot, these pairs may then be shaded in the following
manner: The pairs being hung on sticks, as shewn at Fig. 5, may be gradually
lowered into a dye bath when the part first in contact will be colored the deeper,
and the part last in contact the lighter shades of the color. Or the dye bath
having been prepared in a concentrated state in the bottom of a dyeing cistern,
water may gradually be added, the bath being kept at the boil so that it is
gradually exhausted of its coloring matters before its level reaches the upper parts
of the pairs of hanks.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in the
Dyeing of Woollen and other Yarns," and explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited
Letters Patent I claim,-
Dyeing woollen and other yarns in chains of hauks, such hanks being connected
together in the manner and for the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Henry Rogers, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.