A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921.
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ORDER XII.—TEXTILE WORKERS

Sub-order 1.—Textile Workers

381.—Dye Mixers and Dyers



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becker (dyer)
see dyer, beck..
colourer, colourist, colour maker, colour mixer (dyer's) ; dye mixer
(i) a master dyer (359) or technical chemist or foreman dyer (359) who specifies colours to be used;
(ii) sometimes also does work of drug room man q.v.
colourer, print colourer, colourist, colour maker, colour mixer (for textile printing) ; reducer, shader for textile printing)
determines strength and mixture of colours to be used, also mordants and coagulants required, and either himself mixes colours, mordants, thickenings (gum or starch, etc.), in correct proportions or has them mixed under his supervision.
colourer, piece
see dyer, piece.
colour maker, colour mixer (carpets and rugs)
makes up colours used in printing carpet yarns, adds thickening agents, and boils in pans.
colour mixer's assistant
assists drug room man q.v. in mixing colours for use in dyeing processes.
doubler (dyeing)
combines, for convenience in dyeing, two or more warps which are afterwards separated again by splitter (367) q.v.; gathers together hanks, by hand, and puts them into machine to dye to shade; operates machine by hand or foot lever.
drug room man
weighs out colour ingredients for use in dyeing processes, under direction of colour mixer, master dyer, foreman dyer, or chemist, and performs other duties in drug room, e.g. mixing, dissolving.
dye boiler ; kettler, panside man
a colour mixer's assistant q.v. who boils dyestuffs in cisterns to strength laid down by dyer q.v., regulating temperature as required.
dye grinder
feeds, and operates, by gear lever, a grinding machine which powders natural indigo dye with revolving stone wheels or a drum grinder on a metal basin.
dye mixer
see colourer (dyer's).
dyer, operative dyer
a skilled worker in charge of a dyeing machine, usually assisted by other workers; runs material to be dyed through pot eyes or between feeding rollers, through vat or trough of dye solution, and out through squeezing rollers; or superintends its being run through by his assistants; regulates heat of dye solution, and time for which material is to remain therein; sometimes also mixes dye solution; cf. dyer (359) and see specific definitions following.
dyer, aniline black
a dyer q.v. who minds a machine, usually a padding mangle, (see padder) used for dyeing materials with black analine dye.
dyer, beck; bark dyer ; becker
a dyer q.v. who minds a dyeing beck, or rectangular box containing dye liquor, through which yarn, or cloth in rope form, is passed by means of rollers and winches, as distinguished from jig dyer q.v.
dyer, blue
see dyer, indigo.
dyer, burl
a dyer q.v. who minds a machine used for re-dyeing burls, i.e., patches that have not taken dye at first time of dyeing.
dyer, cop
a dyer q.v. who places cylinders of yarn, skewered on perforated metal tubes, in dye cistern; fastens down lid of cistern, and forces dye liquor through yarn under pressure from a pump and other appliance; removes cylinder when operation is complete.
dyer, hank ; skein dyer, skeiner
(i) a dyer q.v. who places yarn in position in a dyeing machine, and regulates movement of yarn and dye liquor;
(ii) in conjuction [sic] with another hank dyer, lets yarn, hanging on poles, sink into dye liquor; raises each skein and turns it a few inches to immerse any yarn that has remained uncovered, and repeats process until dyeing is complete.
dyer, indigo; indigo vat dyer ; blue dyer, vat dyer, vat man, wad man (blue dyer)
a dyer q.v. who runs cloth over a series of rollers submerged in indigo dye liquor, then through squeezing rollers, and so along other rollers or a travelling band.
dyer, jig ; jigger (gigger), jigging (gigging) machine attendant, jig tenter
a dyer q.v. who dyes cloth in a jigger, a dye vat fitted with guide rollers which direct cloth through dye solution; passes cloth several times over guide rollers, in open or full-width form, as distinguished from beck dyer q.v.
dyer, piece ; piece colourer
a dyer q.v. dyeing piece goods, as distinguished from raw material, tops, slubbing, yarns, etc.
dyer, skein
see dyer, hank.
dyer, slab
see dyer's labourer.
dyer, slubbing; top dyer
dyes wool tops or slivers, (intermediate stage in spinning of yarn) wound on perforated tubes; as for cop dyer.
dyer, vat
see dyer, indigo.
dyer, warp
as for dyer, hank.
dyer, yarn
a general term for a dyer q.v. who specialises in dyeing yarn, includes beck dyer, cop dyer, hank dyer, skein dyer, warp dyer q.v.
dyer's labourer ; slabber (slang), slab dyer
shifts cases and tubes of dyestuffs; mixes ingredients of dye baths in prescribed proportions, as directed by dyer q.v.; tranfers [sic] dyed textiles from machine to draining slabs or from one vat or machine to another, e.g. from dyeing to rinsing liquor and assists dyer generally.
dye stainer
a dyer q.v. who acting under instructions of foreman dyer q.v., prepares exact shade of colour when alteration is required, and passes cloth through vat.
fustic boiler
a colourer q.v. engaged in mixing and boiling fustic, a yellow dyestuff.
gigger, gigging machine attendant
see dyer, jig.
indigo dipper
mounts cloth or yarn on frames, which he lowers into dye liquor; afterwards exposes material to .atmosphere for oxidisation.
jigger, jigging machine attendant, jig tenter
see dyer, jig.
kettler
see dye boiler.
mordant maker
prepares mordants by boiling them in copper pans under high steam pressure, and diluting them to necessary strength; is usually a colourer q.v.
padder (dyer's), padding mangier, padding tenter, padding machine minder, padding machine tenter
dyes yarn or cloth in a padding machine, similar to a jigger, but equipped with squeezing rollers; guides cloth (full width), or yarn, over rollers, and so through dye liquor, and thence through squeezing rollers.
pan man
in charge of pans in which thickenings, used for mixing colours, are boiled; under instructions from foreman dyer q.v. prepares and boils thickenings.
panside man
see dye boiler.
reducer
see colourer (for textile printing).
reeler (yarn dyeing)
a yarn dyer q.v. who minds a machine which keeps hanks of yarn revolving in dyeing solution.
shader (dyeing)
(i) cuts customer's shades, and hands them to dyer q.v. keeps firm's record of all shades; is responsible for correct instructions being given to dyers;
(ii) tests shade by cutting small piece from batch of wet cloth 'in solution, drying it at small steam pipe; if necessary, dilutes dye solution or adds colour; directs removal of cloth from vats when dyed to required shade.
shader (for textile printing)
see colourer (for textile printing).
skeiner
see dyer, hank.
slabber (slang)
see dyer's labourer.
tinter
a dyer q.v., who passes through a tinting bath to be tinted, i.e., dyed in very delicate shades, material which has usually been through a preliminary bleaching process; sometimes tints by hand, using a pad.
vat man
see dyer, indigo.
wad man (blue dyer)
see dyer, indigo.

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From: A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921,
Ministry of Labour, 1927. Digitised by Peter Christian, August, 2016.   This text is in the Public Domain.