Popular Dyeing Projects Are A Hit!

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During the First World War… and for several years thereafter, dyeing projects were very popular, teaching young girls how to be practical in the re-using of their articles of clothing by freshening them up… almost making them new again!

The Wisconsin girls' Dyeing Song made a hit at the banquet and was sung at every demonstration. Here it is:

The girls got interested in dyeing and demonstrating how the faded clothes could be made to look like new again and ready for another season's wear. In the early spring of 1919 everyone in and around Ellsworth, Wisconsin was getting interested in their dyeing story. "Let's go to the state fair, girls!" This was the greeting Mr. L. W. Fulton, the leader of their dyeing club, gave them one morning. "Oh, could we?" "What'll we have to do to get there?" Oh, we'd never be good enough. Why, just imagine a team from Ellsworth at the state fair?"

"Why, of course, we could! Why not?" returned Mr. Fulton. "Let's make up our minds to go to the interstate fair! Don't forget that you are club girls and all real club boys and girls earn what they get. Why not earn a trip to the state fair?" So his Ellsworth team worked its way not only to the state fair but also to the interstate fair by successfully competing with many other sewing demonstration teams. "We were so surprised to win out at the district contest and get the chance to go to the State fair," we heard Edith exclaim. This was the first big surprise although not the last one for the girls. "This team was chosen to represent Wisconsin after competing with the nine winning dyeing teams from other sections of Wisconsin and then with the winning teams in each of the other three demonstration projects–poultry, potatoes and canning.

"Dyeing is the most practical, economical, and simplest means of making new clothes out of old ones!" This was the statement made by the captain, Dorothy Doolittle, and so successfully demonstrated by the team that Wisconsin was given first place in the Interstate demonstration team contest. The competition was between the champion demonstration teams from Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas and Wisconsin. Wouldn't you like the chance to be part of this audience for a few minutes, listening to the demonstration from nearly 100 years ago?

"Dyeing," the captain began, "is one of the most ancient arts. The colors that were used up to the discovery of artificial dyes in 1856 were the natural dyes. These were obtained from vegetable, animal, and mineral matter. You can see from the samples which Deborah is showing that they do not produce as bright colors as our coal-tar dyes of today. Before the war we depended almost entirely on Germany for our dye supply. But when forced to fall back on our own resources, America was equal to the task. Now we have dyes which are as good – no, much better – because they are American dyes and we are glad of the opportunity to demonstrate their use."

"The first step in the dyeing process," Dorothy explained, "is to see that your garment is clean. Maybe some of you think, 'oh, what's the use of removing all those spots and stains; it takes too much time, the dye will cover them up anyway.' But it won't. The spots will remain and after the garment is dyed it is too late to remove them without danger of destroying some color. So be sure that all stains are out before starting to dye…" and, thus, the demonstration continues on to its conclusion: "This completes our demonstration and we hope that we have interested you in the art of dyeing as well as to have shown you the main steps of the process." The girls then end up by singing another one of their dyeing songs.