A Word About Dyes Page 3

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Indigo blues, and greens with an indigo base do not change under lamplight, gaslight or electric light.

Most yellows in natural pigments soften somewhat at night except under candlelight which is itself almost a yellow light. In fading the artificial dyes are also apt to lose in quality of color, while the natural dyes fade into softer and more agreeable tones. All dye-stuffs eventually fade somewhat. Permanency of color is a relative term, for all colors are effected by long exposure to light and even if the degree of color is not noticeably lessened, a certain grayness comes on it after a time. The natural dyes fade in this way and what they lose in degree of color they gain in quality of tone.

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The handicrafter can always test a dyed fabric by thoroughly washing and hanging it, while it is very wet, in the sun to dry. It can be re-wet and hung out again or left in the open for about two weeks and be submitted to all the changes of the weather. By this severe test all the loose dye particles fall off and the color is reduced to the barest possibility of later changes.

While most of the cotton cloth which is used in making the old-time rugs is hand-dyed, some of it is to be bought already dyed. All colored cottons and cotton prints dyed by commercial processes with artificial dyestuffs, must be faded before they can be used. This tones down the colors and gives them more of the appearance of old material. The commercially dyed cottons, however, are not originally as crude in color as wool or silk fabrics. Cotton fiber is dyed with more difficulty than either of these because its physical structure has less affinity for coloring matters. The commercial cotton dyer and printer has special appliances for fixing dyes on cotton fiber; the most important of these is a steaming room where the cloth is kept at a certain temperature in order to assist the dye to attach itself to the fiber, but the amateur dyer does not command these complicated mechanical conveniences for methods of artificial dyeing.

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The Craft Of Handmade Rugs - View The Rest Of The Book

Introduction - Some Old Time Rugs  - The Braided Rug  - The Scalloped Doormat Or Tongue Rug
The Knitted Rug - The Crocheted Rug - The Hooked Rug In Cotton And Wool - The Needle-Woven Rug
The Colonial Rag Rug - Some Applications - Newer Methods Of Stencil Making - The Tufted Counterpane
Old Time Lights - The Batik Or Wax Resist Process