To Dye Black Recipe

Allow a pound of logwood to each pound of goods that are to be dyed.

Soak it over night in soft water, then boil it an hour, and strain the

water in which it is boiled. For each pound of logwood, dissolve an

ounce of blue vitriol in lukewarm water sufficient to wet the goods. Dip

the goods in--when saturated with it, turn the whole into the logwood

dye. If the goods are cotton, set the vessel on the fire, and let the

goods boil ten or fifteen minutes, stirring them constantly to prevent

their spotting. Silk and woollen goods should not be boiled in the

dye-stuff, but it should be kept at a scalding heat for twenty minutes.

Drain the goods without wringing, and hang them in a dry, shady place,

where they will have the air. When dry, set the color by, put them into

scalding hot water, that has salt in it, in the proportion of a tea-cup

full to three gallons of the water. Let the goods remain in it till

cold; then hang them where they will dry; (they should not be wrung.)

Boiling hot suds is the best thing to set the color of black silk--let

it remain in it till cold. Soaking black-dyed goods in sour milk, is

also good to set the color.