Ladies’ straw hats are dyed in just the same way as the loose braid, the same care being taken to clean and wet the goods thoroughly, and to dye evenly. It is often of interest to experiment with old hats of good material, but faded, and to dye them up some pleasant new shade, and the ribbons and trimmings to match. Sometimes the remains of the old coloring will strip well by washing in hot soapsuds, and sometimes by soaking in warm water containing about one tablespoonful to the gallon of _sodium hydrosulphite_—the same salt that was used as a reducing agent for the Vat colors in the last chapter. If the color comes out well, it is then easy enough, after thoroughly rinsing, to dye them any desired shade. Otherwise they can be dyed Navy Blue, with a good shade of Methylene Blue and a trace of red, or Seal Brown, using a large amount of red and a little yellow and blue; or they can be dyed black with a black dye, such as one of the so-called Leather Blacks, usually made by mixing a deep purple with a yellow, or one of the strong, powerful Basic greens with red. In general, a well dyed piece of braid is supposed to show smooth, even coloring, good gloss, and good penetration of the dyestuff into the folds of the straw. There are, however, decided possibilities for the intelligent worker to obtain more interesting effects with but little trouble. It is very easy to use the principles, already explained, of rainbow dyeing, for straw braid, and beautiful effects can be obtained in this way, though it would need an artistic as well as an experienced milliner to fully utilize the same in making hats. But it frequently happens, when dyeing coarse braid without boiling, that the dye penetrates unevenly, from the edge towards the centre. Very pretty shaded effects can be produced in this way, the general color being uniform, and yet the straw, when looked at closely, showing tints instead of one flat, uniform shade. By dyeing the straw a solid color first, and then shading it in this manner with a different color, very interesting effects can be produced. It may be worth while to mention here that, when bought at wholesale places, it is astonishing how cheap the raw materials are. Bodies of straw, chip, etc., framing wire, white satin ribbon, artificial flowers, wing feathers, etc., from which not only pretty but even handsome and elegant head coverings can be created, and cost next to nothing at wholesale. The mechanical part of dyeing all these things can be learned in a very short time; after that the possibilities for a skilled worker, who has a good eye for color and can dye to the desired shades herself without having to hunt them far and near, are very large.