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Colouring Cotton Carpet Rags
Mrs. S. I. Parker.
BLUE. For five pounds of cloth, take five ounces of copperas, with two pails of water in a tin or copper boiler; set it over the fire till the copperas is dissolved and it begins to heat, then put in the cloth, stirring it frequently till it boils, one-half or three-fourths of an hour; then remove the cloth where it can drain; pour away the copperas water and take two ounces of prusin about two pails of water in the same vessel; when it is well dissolved and hot, put in the cloth from the copperas water, stirring it thoroughly till it boils, one-half an hour, then remove the cloth; add (with care and caution, on account of the spattering which tablespoon of oil of vitriol, and stir it well in the dye; replace the cloth, stirring it briskly till it has boiled one-half an hour.
Should be well rinsed and washed in clear water to prevent the dye from making it tender after colouring.
YELLOW. For five pounds of cloth dissolve one-half pound of sugar of lead in a tub of warm water and of sugar of lead in a tub of warm water and twelve ounces of bichromate of potash in another tub of cold water; soak, rinse, and wring the cloth in the lead water first, then in the other, and from one to the other, till the right shade of colour is obtained.
ORANGE.-Dip the yellow coloured cloth into strong lime water ; if it should not turn, boil it ; rinse all well. water; if it should not turn, boil it; rinse all well.
GREEN. Put your blue cloth in the yellow dye in the same manner as for colouring yellow. Old calico will manner as for colouring yellow. Old calico will take a darker shade of blue or green in the same dye with the white cloth.