NANKEEN is a cotton cloth of a beau tiful color, which derives its name from Nankin, in China, from which place it was first brought to Europe. The manu factured nankeen is now exported largely to China. Many suppose that true nan keen is artificially colored, but this is not so ; its color is that of the natural cotton— a peculiar kind, some of which has been successfully cultivated in Georgia. The color of nankeen may be imitated in the most perfect manner, and in every case of linen drill of this color, may be set down as an artificial production.
To produce light nankeen shades, the cotton cloth should be first bleached white. This can be done by having some of the chloride of lime dissolved in cold water in a tub, using the clear hot, and handling the cloth in it till it is white, then handling it in a clean water, made sour to the taste, in a tub, by vitrol, and afterwards washing it well. It is then fit to he dyed : to do this, dissolve one pound of copperas in half a gallon of water, and dissolve two pounds of quick lime in 10 gallons of water ; then let both solutions settle. Pour off five gallons of the clear lime water into a tub of clean cold water sufficient to cover the cloth, and i allow it to be handled by the selvedge free ly. Then into another tub of cold water, about the same size as the lime water tub, put in one quarter of the clear dissolved copperas ;• one ounce of the nitrate of lead may be dissolved with the copperas ; handle the cloth well for five or ten min utes in the lime, giving it three selvedges from end to end, and afterwards wring and shake it. It is now to be handled the same way in the copperas solution, then wrung and aired for ten minutes. It is then to be put through the lime and copperas in the seine manner, adding enough of the strong lime and copperas to make three successive airing well out of the copperas every time. It is then put through, last, a clean tub of lime water, which can be made by put ting more clean water among the two lbs. of lime, letting it settle and using the clear. It is then well washed in water, then in a strong solution of soap, and afterwards well washed, then dried. This will also dye unbleached cotton cloth, which will be somewhat darker in the color. The quantities of lime and cop peras given, will dye 30 yards of com mon cloth. Light and dark shades are produced by the quantity of lime and copperas used, and the number of dips given. The eye will judge the depth of color desired. Unbleached cotton cloth Should be boiled for about one hour in lime water, then washed well before it is dyed.
Bleached goods sold in stores are diffi cult to color level—they always spot, owing to some chloride of lime not being thoroughly washed out of them. The
only remedy for this is to steep the cloth all night in warm water, then boil it in lime water, and wash it well before it is dyed (and it would be all the better to be quickly handled in hot water, made sour with vitriol, and then well washed). This color washes well in strong soap suds, but it spots brown and black, if tea, coffee, or any solution containing galic acid gets on it.
Madder Nankeen, This is the best nankeen color, as it will wash beauti fully in soap, and not to be affected with weak acids.
Take the cotton cloth (unbleached) and boil it well in strong lime water for four or five hours, until all the natural oil which is contained in the fibres of the cotton is removed—this is essential to produce a good nankeen. If any of the oleaginous matter is left, the color will be too reddish, approaching to a salmon color. After the cotton is well boiled, it must be well washed, and then handled in a copper or tin kettle, kept near a scalding heat for one hour. In the kettle should be plenty of water, to allow free handling, and there should be four ounces of alum dissolved in it for every pound weight of the cotton. The goods after this are washed well, and then put into a kettle containing clean water, and four ounces of madder to every pound. It should be kept at a scalding heat for nearly one hour, when a beautiful nan keen oolor will be the result. The color is made deeper in the shade by using more stuff. It is washed out of the mad der and is dried. If the cotton cloth was bleached it would make a still more beautiful color. By putting a little of yellow oak bark among the madder, it will make the color verge more upon the yellow shade.
Another way to dye nankeen is to boil annatto among pearlash (one ounce will color five pounds), and then mix it with hot water in a clean vessel, and handle the goods in it for fifteen or twenty min utes. This color is beautiful, but fugi tive; it fades with the sun and can be boiled out with soap. It is of this color ed stuff that so many yellow faded and spotted pantaloons are made.
In many eases, the ordinary mode of making nankeen varies from the forego ing processes, and consists in a series of operations, nearly as follows : The clean cotton yarn is saturated in a solution of alum till it will soak in no more of that mordant. It is then galled, by dipping it in a strong bath of oak bark ; then washed through a bath of cream of lime or weak soda lye, until the desired shade appears. The banks are then rinsed, squeezed, and aired, and passed through a bath of chloride of tin, to brighten up the color.