Mackenzie's Ten Thousand Receipts

Ten thousand receipts from the great Victorian household compendium — cookery, brewing, dyeing, gilding, fireworks, medicine, farriery and the rest of the useful arts, in one volume.

HomeDyeing › Red (Take oz of Brazil-wood)

Red (Take oz of Brazil-wood)

Take 1 oz. of Brazil-wood in powder, oz. of alum, oz. of vermilion, and 1 pint of vinegar; boil them up to a moderate thickness, and dip the bristles or feathers (they having been first soaked in hot water) into the said mixture. Feathers may be dyed at once, of any shade, by means of coal-tar colors (p. 318).

To Dye or Color Horse-Hair.

Steep in water wherein a small quantity of turpentine has been boiled for the space of two hours; then, having prepared the colors very hot, boil the hair therein, and any color, black excepted, will take, but that will only take a dark-red or dark-blue, etc.

To Dye Gloves.

Take the color suitable for the occasion; if dark take Spanish brown and black earth; if lighter, yellow and whiting; and so on with other colors. Mix them with a moderate fire, daub the gloves over with the color wet, and let them hang till they are dry; then beat out the superfluity of the color, and smoothe them over with a stretching or sleeking stick, reducing them to their proper shape.

To Dye White Gloves Purple.

Boil 4 oz. of logwood and 2 oz. of roche-alum in 3 pts. of soft water till half wasted; let the liquor stand to cool after straining. Let the gloves be. nicely mended; then, with a brush, rub them over, and when dry repeat. Twice is sufficient, unless the color is to be very dark. When dry, rub off To Prepare Wood for Dyeing.

The wood mostly used to dye black is pear-tree, holly, and beach, all of which take a beautiful black color. Do not use wood that has been long cut, or aged, but let it be as fresh as possible.

After the veneers have had 1 hour's boiling, and been taken out to cool, the color is always much stronger. When dyed, they should be dried in the air, and not by the fire, nor in a kiln of any kind, as artificial heat tends to destroy the color. In order to dye blue, green, red or other colors, take clear holly. Put the veneers into a box or trough, with clear water, and let them remain 4 or 5 days, changing the water once or twice as occasion may require. The water will clear the wood of slime, etc. Let them dry about 12 hours before they are put into the dye; by observing this the color will strike quicker, and be of a brighter hue.

To Stain Oak a Mahogany Color.

Boil together Brazil-wood and alum, and before it is applied to the wood a little potash is to be added to it. A suitable varnish for wood, thus tinged, may be made by dissolving amber in oil of turpentine, mixed with a small portion of linseed oil.

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