ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 4, 1996 TAG: 9608050084
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG (AP)
SOURCE: BOBBIE HARVILLE (NEWPORT NEWS) DAILY PRESS
BUT ONE WEAVER draws the line at using the 18th-century liquid of choice - stale human urine - to help dye cloth.
From the rear of the millinery shop on Duke of Gloucester Street comes a loud THUMP, THUMP, THUMP as Max Hamrick practices his trade. Seated on a small bench, his arms spread wide, the Colonial Williamsburg craftsman slowly weaves hundreds of strands of blue and white yarn into a blanket.
The THUMP, THUMP, THUMP is constant as he taps foot pedals to move the wooden parts of the loom. Curious tourists watch his hand guide the yarn through the contraption that's about the size of a grand piano. If they're lucky, they might hear Hamrick tell the story of how George Washington's cape became so blue.
Immortalized in pictures of Washington crossing the Delaware, the navy blue cloth was dyed 18th century style.
``It's been dipped in stale human urine at least 14 times to obtain that color,'' Hamrick says. Blended with powdered indigo, the ammonia in the urine acts as a catalyst to start a chemical reaction. At the time, it was the most common way of achieving the color blue anywhere in the world.
After learning about that technique, a young visitor once asked Hamrick if that's why Washington had to stand in the front of the boat. Actually, once the cloth was washed, any odor disappeared, he says.
Today, Hamrick creates shades of blue using a chemical instead of urine. ``I just can't bring myself to be 18th [century] enough to use that particular liquid,'' he says.
But just about every other raw material - including yak hair and mealy bugs - used by Colonial Williamsburg's historic tradespeople is authentic.
``Because we're an 18th century museum, we have to use certain types of materials,'' says Evelyn Black, director of the Department of Historic Trades, Presentations and Tours. ``Very few people use these materials anymore. They just aren't made to a large degree.''
Sometimes Black scours the world looking for the right material. Often searches are done by phone or in writing. She also uses a set of 30 reference books for products and services nationwide. Black's latest search is for copper to use as bands around gun powder kegs because it's less likely to spark than iron.
``The problem is trying to get the amount that we need,'' she says.
Dyes for yarn used to make blankets, bed rugs and tea towels and sometimes furniture finishes are made from natural materials. Log wood from South America makes purple. Black walnuts from Colonial Williamsburg trees are used for brown. Indigo comes from South America.
Cochineal or mealy bugs from Central Mexico make red.
The bug's tiny shells are brewed like tea to create shades ranging from beet burgundy to pink. It takes 70,000 sun-dried or oven-dried shells to make a pound of dye.
Across the street at the wigmaker's shop, visitors can see examples of wigs popular during the days of Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. Using horse, goat, human and sometimes yak hair, wigmakers Regina Blizzard, Betty Kelly and others create wigs, curls and queues once worn by the most fashionable people.
Today women make the wigs at Colonial Williamsburg, but it was a man's trade in the 18th century. Women were sometimes hired to weave the hair.
Using a wood tress loom - two spindles set about a foot and a half apart - the wigmakers quickly loop slender strands of hair onto silk threads. Using their fingers, they repeatedly weave the hair by sliding it down three threads. It's later sewn in layers into a silk and cotton mesh cap or caul.
Depending on the size and style of the wig, it can take from 45 hours to 200 hours of work. The women often develop calluses because the movement is so repetitive.
``The technique we use hasn't been transferred into our century,'' Kelly says. As a guide, the women use a book that was translated from French and was first published in 1767.
As in the 18th century, craftspeople throughout the living history museum find uses for all kinds of materials.
Shoemakers sometimes use boar's bristles as needles. Silversmiths use pine sap resin to help create designs on bowls and other items.
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Regina Blizzard combs human hair on an unfinishedby CNBwig in a shop at Colonial Williamsburg. color.