2 Recipes For Cotton Dyeing With Vat
(1) Indigo Vat Recipe
- Take 3 oz. well ground indigo, mix into a paste with hot water.
- Slake 3 oz. Quicklime and boil with 6 oz.
- Potash or Soda ash in sufficient water, let it settle, pour off the clear liquor in which dissolve the indigo paste, boil or keep hot 24 hours; it should then have the consistency of thick cream, with much froth.
- During the boiling, slake another 3 oz. quicklime, boil in a pint of water for 15 minutes, let settle, pour off the clear liquor in which dissolve 4 to 5 oz. green copperas.
- Add the indigo and copperas solutions to 5 gallons water, stir well, let vat rest, stir once or twice during 24 hours or until it appear ready for dyeing.
- Before use it should be stirred and let stand 2 hours. It should be a clear yellowish green with much scum.
The cotton to be dyed should be entered in dips of increasing lengths of time, as 1, 5, 10, 20 minutes, and aired in between, according to depth of shade required.
It should then be well washed, passing through water slightly acidulated with Sulphuric acid (a teaspoonful to 1 gallon).
When this vat appears exhausted and turns a dark colour it may be revived by adding 2 or 3 oz. Green Copperas dissolved as before.
When again exhausted, more of all the ingredients must be added.
(2) Lime Copperas Vat Recipe
- 2 oz. Indigo, 4 oz. Copperas, 5 oz. Quicklime (fresh).
- Mix Indigo into a paste with hot water.
- Dissolve copperas in hot water.
- Slake lime.
- Fill earthenware jar with about 5 gallons cold water and add the Indigo, copperas and slaked lime in that order.
- Stir well, cover and let stand till next day or until vat is in proper condition; it should be clear brownish yellow with possible blue scum.
There will be some sediment.
The dyeing process is as in (1).
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