Part 1 (1/2)

Vegetable Dyes

by Ethel M Mairet

CHAPTER I

WOOL SILK COTTON AND LINEN

WOOLS are of various kinds:--

_Highland, Welsh and Irish_ wools are froular short stapled fleeces

_Forest or Mountain sheep_ (Herdwick, Exmoor, Cheviot, Blackfaced, Limestone) have better wool, especially the Cheviot, which is very thick and good for

_Ancient Upland_, such as South Down, are smaller sheep than the last na Woolled sheep_, (Lincolns, Leicester) with long staple wool (record length, 36”) and fleeces weighing up to 12 lbs The Leicester fleece is softer, finer and better than Lincoln

To the end of the 18th century _Spanish wool_ was the finest and best wool in the world Spanish sheep have since been introduced into various countries, such as Saxony, Australia, Cape Colony, New Zealand; and some of the best wools now come from the Colonies

_Alpaca, Vicuna and Llaoats

_Mohair_ frooat of Asia Minor

_Kashoat

_Camel_ hair, the soft under wool of the camel, which is shed annually

The colour of wool varies frorey and brown in between The natural colours are not absolutely fast to light but tend to bleach slightly with the sun

The principal fleeces are:

_Larowth, the finest, softest andof sheep that have not been shorn as la

Wool corease_, not having been washed and containing all the irease rehly cleaned and all grease removed

Wool can be dyed either in the fleece, in the yarn, or in the woven cloth Raool always contains a certain arease

This should not be washed out until it is ready for dyeing, as the grease keeps the enerally spun in the oil to facilitate spinning All grease and oil un, and this hly or the ill not take the colour

WATER

A constant supply of clean soft water is an absolute necessity for the dyer Rain water should be collected as much as possible, as this is the best water to use The dye house should be by a river or strea and ater is, as a rule, hard, and should be avoided In washi+ng, as well as in dyeing, hard water is injurious for wool It ruins the brilliancy of the colour, and prevents the dyeing of some colours