On the other hand, it is a nuisance, oftentimes, to have to boil the goods, and even then the colors are not really fast to washing. At any rate, before proceeding to the study of the more permanent but more complicated Sulphur and Vat colors, the art of dyeing even and rainbow shades and at least the beginnings of the art of combining and matching shades should be carefully and conscientiously worked out with these often despised, but really very useful and valuable, Salt colors.
Chapter IV
THEORY AND PRACTICE OF COLOR DYEING
Directly the student has mastered the instruction contained in the three previous chapters, and can use the dyeing apparatus and the unmixed dyestuffs so as to get reasonably fast colors on cotton and linen goods, it is time to attack the more difficult subject of dyeing to shade. This art is not an easy one, by any means, and only a few fundamental principles can be learned from a book. To make any real progress in it, constant and continuous practice is necessary; even then, unless the student is naturally gifted with an eye capable of readily detecting any changes of color, and has trained it to distinguish and identify the causes of such changes, little success in the matching of colors can be hoped for.
This does not mean, however, that unless a dyer can match shades perfectly, he cannot turn out very interesting and, indeed, beautiful results. But it does mean that he will find it difficult, if not impossible, to reproduce such results, and will be frequently handicapped in trying to utilize his dyeing skill and knowledge commercially.
The beginner thinks—not unnaturally perhaps—that in order to get any considerable variety of shades it is necessary to have on hand a large and varied assortment of dyestuffs; and it is consequently a surprise to find that skilled workers keep in stock chiefly a good supply of blue, yellow, and red only. Black is convenient and useful, but not essential, excepting for special purposes. By mixing these three “primary” colors it is possible to get every conceivable shade needed. And another point, which will be emphasized below and which is also likely to be a surprise, is that practically every pretty and agreeable shade, no matter how delicate, is composed of all three of these primary colors. Blue and yellow produce green, blue and red produce violet, and yellow and red produce orange, while the addition of the third or “complementary” color to any of these combinations of two makesgrey, when all three colors are perfectly balanced, and when one color or another predominates, it is greyed and softened by the presence of small quantities of the other two.
Experiments with Single Colors
The way to study color dyeing is, first of all, to get a clear idea of the effect of different strengths of each of these three primary colors in producing both light and dark shades of a single color. This can be easily accomplished with the red, blue, and yellow of the Salt dyes described in the last chapter. Dissolve each color separately and keep them in separate dye-pots so that you can readily dye pieces of cheesecloth or other cheap, easy-dyeing materials any light, medium, or dark shade, to serve as a basis for future comparisons.
DIAGRAM OF PRIMARY COLORS
| Two color shades— | Red + Blue = | Violet | |
| Red + Yellow = | Orange | ||
| Yellow + Blue = | Green | ||
| Complementary colors— | Red + Blue + Yellow = | Grey | |
| Red + Green = | } | ||
| Blue + Orange = | } | Grey | |
| Yellow + Violet = | } | ||