In the discussion of the problem of hand weaving, frequent reference
has been made to the use of coloured materials. While it is possible to
obtain many good colours in the market, it is much more satisfactory
to make these colours at home by the use of the dye pot. In former
times, when hand weaving was general, there was no other way; and,
in fact, dyeing and weaving may well be considered now, as they were
then, sister arts. When the wool was washed, carded into rolls, spun
into yarn, and again doubled and twisted, it was, generally speaking,
still necessary to treat the yarn with some permanent dye before
weaving it into cloth. One notable exception was found in the natural
gray homespun, which was of yarn spun from the wool of both the black
and the white sheep carded together. The modern worker with the hand
loom will find almost the same necessity as our grandmothers did for a
knowledge of the art of dyeing. Seldom will she find at hand just the
shade or colour required by the design of the piece to be woven. Much
of the material that is worked up for the woof of rugs, for example,
will be found to be so faded or spotted that it would poorly repay one
for the labour of weaving it up in that condition. And even the new
material, which it is often necessary to procure for plain weaving, for
pattern weaving, and for use in borders, will often need a bath in the
dye pot in order to furnish the tone of colour needed.
_Some Good Points in Dyeing._--Good results in dyeing are obtained by
using the prepared dyes of the markets, mixing together more than
one colour often, after some experimenting, in order to produce the
desired shade. Instead of mixing the dye one may, if she chooses, dye
first in one colour and top off with another. A fine permanent green
is obtained by dyeing thread or cloth a good yellow and topping with a
blue bath. Green and blue dye used together give neither green nor blue
but a blending of both colours, which is exceedingly pleasing. In all
cases it is better to make the dye bath weak, leaving the article to be
dyed in the bath a long time rather than to keep it a shorter time in
a stronger dye. The advantage is not only greater permanency of colour
but also greater certainty in the result; for one can watch the process
of dyeing more easily and guard against the colours becoming too dark.
The material which remains in the dye bath until it takes practically
all the colour from it may generally be depended upon neither to fade
nor crock.
_Some Common Dyes._--The dull, soft colours, made generations ago
from barks and teas with alum as a mordant, had artistic qualities
and were generally permanent. It is well worth while to experiment in
this direction. Straw colour may be made from the old-fashioned herb
saffron; orange comes from madder and fustic; yellow is obtained
from powdered dock root; rusty nails boiled in vinegar with a bit of
copperas give a good black dye, useful also in freshening black yarns
that have acquired a dull or faded colour. White maple bark boiled
in water makes a fine medium brown which may be made fast by first
treating the cloth or yarn to be dyed in it with a solution of alum. A
permanent and fine nankeen colour may be made from a pail of lye with a
piece of copperas half the size of an egg boiled in it. In fact, nearly
everything which possesses colour may be considered a dye. Vegetable
substances are generally in themselves more permanent, but most dyes
need to be fixed or "set" by the use of some mordant. All this will
mean much experimenting, of course, unless one is fortunate enough to
possess an old receipt book with its quaint allusions to mordants,
kettles of brass, and vessels of pewter. The use of the prepared dyes,
which may be easily obtained with explicit directions, is generally
satisfactory and of course somewhat easier; and yet the interest which
inspires one to cultivate the art of hand weaving leads to a desire
to master all of the arts intimately associated with this ancient and
fascinating home industry.
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