All other faded out light colors can be made into a delicate shade of
sky blue by first bleaching with permanganate of potash process for
the purpose of removing colors. White feathers that are only dirty and
greasy must be thoroughly washed and rinsed in luke warm water, after
which prepare bath as follows: For one gallon of luke warm water, more
or less, according to the amount of feathers to be dyed, add a small
handful of clean starch; enter your feather and rub them around in
bath for a second between the hands to open the flues, to admit color
evenly; add about one teaspoonful of oxalic acid, enter feathers and
let remain in bath a few seconds longer; then remove feathers from
bath, and add a couple of drops of concentrated cotton blue diluted;
re-enter feathers and let them remain in about half a minute; increase
temperature of your bath a few degrees by adding some hot water; take
feathers out of bath and add thereto a drop of diluted indigo blue;
re-enter, and keep them well under the surface of bath to give them
an even color, and allow to remain in about thirty seconds longer.
Take them out of bath, squeeze out and dry, either in powdered starch
or by beating on a clean board or table. Under no circumstances allow
feathers to hang wet and motionless on line during process of drying
without beating the starch out. The result of so doing would cause the
feathers to look thin, shriveled, and injure the color and quality of
goods. The same care should be observed not alone in this, but in all
colors.
In light blues your bath should look about two shades darker than the
sample to be matched. Where a darker shade is required, more color can
be added; and, through carelessness or negligence, should you allow
your color to become too dark, rinse off your feathers in cold water
first to remove the starch, and then in luke warm water a couple of
times to draw off all acid, and pass feathers a few seconds through a
bath of luke warm water with a small pinch of soda in it, which will
have the effect of drawing off all surplus color; after which rinse in
luke warm water, and mix a fresh bath of luke warm water and starch
and one-half a teaspoonful of oxalic acid; enter your feathers and
carefully add color until you have obtained the desired shade.