Dye help

[Gerkin]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have decided to dye some cloth myself in order to make some shirts out of it. I have narrowed my choices down to two dyes. One is a "chocolate brown", and the other is "a fine dark shade of purple". My problem is, they both require copperas, and I don't have a clue as to where I can get it. I have already tried Google and Yahoo, and I am having no luck. Any help?

Thank you for your time.

[tmattimore]

Cooperas is copper sulfate. Read the M.S.D.S. carefully.

[Hank Trent]

Copperas as a mordant for dyeing is usually ferrous sulphate, which also goes by the name of "iron mordant," and if that's what you need, Dharma Trading has it at http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/66243-AA.shtml .

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[tmattimore]

Thanks Hank. I always wondered why you would use stump killer on cloth.

[Gerkin]

Thank you gentlemen.

YOS

[tmdreb]

Here is something else that might help from Vicki Betts:

SAVANNAH [GA] REPUBLICAN, December 10, 1862, p. 1, c. 5

Substitute for Copperas.—The following is a recipe which answers every purpose in dyeing where copperas is used in setting colors, or for dying copperas color: Half pint vinegar, half pint syrup or molasses, three gallons of water. Put the above into an iron pot with nails or other rusty iron, and let it stand twenty days. It is of no use to buy copperas for dyeing at one dollar per pound while this will answer every purpose.

This looks a lot like a recipe for iron dye, which can also be simplified to soaking steel wool in vinegar and water. The resulting rust (the dye) will turn leather black in addition to acting as a copperas substitute.

[Spinster]

About a year ago, we did some dyeing based on Vicki Betts wonderful research. The "wartime substitute" for copperas does a fine job on leather and basketry--a beautiful black-- and a mediocre job on wool--a medium toasty brown.

It does a sad sorry job on cotton though---despite 5 days of efforts with various strengths, long soakings in the pot, hard boils, and anything else we could think of, the process made a formerly white cotton yard look exactly like a slightly dirty cotton mop.

If your purple dye is using logwood as a base, I'd go with the brown. While purple was a trendy color during the war, and certainly a fine idea, logwood is currently going for about $20 a pound, and it takes a lot to dye cotton.

The copper sulfate type of copperas does do a fine job of darkening any color, and is usually available from the same folks who sell dyestuffs. In a pinch, I've also purchased medical grade from an old-fashioned pharmacy that was not a chain store--again at a premium price.

Be sure also to get the proper chemicals for scouring the material before hand. Other wise, it will spot.

[Gerkin]

Mrs. Lawson:

The dye I have for purple is from Mrs. Betts' website. Actually the only two ingredients are maple bark and copperas. And for the chocolate brown dye, all it takes is red oak bark, and copperas. I don't have any red oak in my woods, so I'll have to get some from the neighbor;).

Thank you all.

[tmdreb]

$20 a pound for logwood dye? I've been getting it from trapping supply companies for about $2 per pound or so. It works just fine for me.

[Drygoods]

Here is something that might be of interest, although I am not sure if it fits in this thread.
Today I purchased a great book about the history of William Perkins' discovery of the Aniline dye mauve. It seems to be a good book and shows how he perfected his process during the 1850s as well as has a photo of an 1860s mauve colored dress. Again, the book is called "Mauve, How One Man Invented a Colour that changed the World" author is Simon Garfied.

Judith Peebles