[4]

DYEING.

The process of dyeing is simple. The fluid is prepared in water
(usually boiling), and the material is immersed in it. The shade of
color obtained depends on the length of time the material is allowed
to remain in the fluid or the number of times it is treated, and the
strength of the dye. The combination of two different dyes to obtain
a third is understood to some extent. In particular, red and yellow
are mixed to obtain orange.

SUGGESTIONS ON THE USE OF COLORS IN MATS.

Standard Colors.

The three primary colors are red, blue, and yellow. The three secondary
colors are obtained by combination of the three primary colors, and are
orange, green, and violet. Orange is made by a combination of yellow
and red, green is a combination of blue and yellow, and violet is the
combination of red and blue. Most of the dye materials explained in the
preceding pages do not produce standard colors and so, when combined,
do not result in the expected secondary color. Often those called red
are, in point of fact, red-violet (see Plate III). Sometimes, also,
dyes called yellow are yellow-orange. A mixture of yellow-orange
and red-violet would produce a muddy color. Dye called green may be
really blue-green or yellow-green, and combined with red, will make
a muddy color.

The above remarks on standard complementary colors are only valid
for pure colors and it is only by much experimentation that pleasing
tones can be obtained by a combination of the dyes used on straws in
the Philippines.

How to Tone Down Brilliant Colors.

Many of the colors used in Philippine mats are very brilliant. A little
brilliantly colored straw, properly combined with subdued colors such
as gray or one of the natural colors of Philippine straws, is pleasing,
but the abundant use of brilliant straws, such as are sometimes seen
in mats of solid color, is to be discouraged.

All brilliant colors may be subdued by adding to them their
complementary color. Thus a brilliant red may be subdued by adding to
it a small amount of green and in the same way brilliant green may be
toned down by mixing with it a small portion of red. If too much of the
complementary color is added the result will be gray. As will be seen,
all complementary colors will subdue one another. In Plate III the
principal colors have been so arranged that the complementary colors
are directly opposite each other and are connected by lines. Any two