A Treatise on Domestic Economy; For the Use of Young Ladies at Home and at School

bonnet is white; then hang it in the air, (when the weather is not damp,) till the smell is removed. Then stiffen it with a solution of isinglass or gum Arabic, put on the inside, with a sponge. Press the crown, on a block, and the rest on a board, on the right side, putting muslin between the iron and straw, and pressing hard. Be careful not to make it too stiff. First, stiffen a small piece, for trial. ON COLORING. _Precautions and Preparations._ All the articles must be entirely free from grease or oil, and also, in most cases, from soapsuds. Make light dyes in brass, and dark ones in iron, vessels. Always wet the articles, in fair water, before dyeing. Always carefully strain the dye. If the color be too light, dry and then dip the article again. Stir the article well in the dye, lifting it up often. Remove any previous color, by boiling in suds, or, what is better, in the soda mixture used for washing. _Pink Dye._ Buy a saucer of carmine, at an apothecary's. With it, you will find directions for its use. This is cheap, easy to use, and beautiful. _Balm blossoms_ and _Bergamot blossoms_, with a little cream of tartar in the water, make a pretty pink. _Red Dye._ Take half a pound of wheat bran, three ounces of powdered alum, and two gallons of soft water. Boil these in a brass vessel, and add an ounce of cream of tartar, and an ounce of cochineal, tied up together in a bag. Boil the mixture for fifteen minutes, then strain it, and dip the articles. Brazil wood, set with alum, makes another red dye. _Yellow Dye._ Fustic, turmeric powder, saffron, barberry-bush, peach-leaves, or marigold flowers, make a yellow dye. Set the dye with alum, putting a piece the size of a large hazelnut to each quart of water. _Light Blue Dye_, for silks and woollens, is made with the 'blue composition,' to be procured of the hat-makers; fifteen drops to a quart of water. Articles dipped in this, must be thoroughly rinsed.