Part 5

=Care of Gloves=: Pull off gloves over the hand, not by tugging at finger tips; this is the first commandment. The second is, Never crumple them. Let lie open from the hand until dry, then smooth, wrap in tissue paper, and put away. Sew fastenings the minute they show loose. Mend at the first ripped stitch. Glove powder shaken inside before putting away after wearing keeps them fresher. Either patch holes in thumb and fingers with very thin kid, else cut off the worn sections almost to the palm, shape new sections from old kid, sew on, then sew in. Color gray spots on the fingers of black kid gloves with a few drops of ink rubbed well through other drops of sweet oil. In cleaning with gasolene put on gloves, fasten smooth, and begin work at the top of the wrist—there will be circles otherwise, especially in long gloves. Wash as though washing hands, using a very soft cloth or wisp of cotton. Change gasolene as soon as dirty. Rub afterward well with starch and whiting, powdered.

=Cleaning Furs=: Brush well, comb twice—against grain and with it—wipe over with soft flannel, then with a wisp of cotton tied in old silk and dipped lightly in gasolene or benzine or ether. Ether is best for white furs. Work quickly, changing the cloth if it grows dirty. Comb up again, and sift over hot cornmeal or sifted sawdust, rub it well through the fur, up, down, crosswise, shake out, and hang to air. White furs after shaking out should be covered thick with starch and whiting in fine powder, mixed with enough powder blue to clear. Let lie several days, then shake out, brush hard, and wipe over very quickly with a soft damp cloth. Dry-clean light and fancy linings by gentle, steady rubbing with a swab of starch and whiting tied in soft silk or cheesecloth. Put a few drops of ether or gasolene on soiled spots, rub hard with the swab, then with a clean cloth, dipped in powdered chalk.

Furs worn in dusty wind or a foul atmosphere need to be well combed, brushed against the grain, and aired quickly. Dry wet furs in air, but away from heat. Stretch and knead them several times while drying to keep the skin pliable. Shake hard at first, hang smooth, and let drain. Unless very wet, only dampness will reach the skin if they are so treated. Snow shaken off before melting is a help rather than a hurt. Indeed, a good way to clean fur rugs is to drag them, hair down, over dry snow. Clean on the floor by sprinkling thickly with hot meal or sawdust, rubbing in well and brushing out, then combing.

VI

MAKING AND MAKING OVER

Wherewithal to make of is the first requisite. Here follow some simple tests easily applicable and well worth while. Use upon samples, and buy accordingly. Things over-cheap, it may be said in passing, carry their condemnation in their price. Buying them is extravagance, since they cost as much in time, trouble, and often in money for making up as sound stuffs and make no adequate return in wear.

=Silk=: Test silk three ways—by tearing, scraping with the thumb nail, and burning. Try to tear a raw edge across the filling. If it is easily done the filling is either artificial or so loaded it will give no wear. Weak warp is even worse—with warp and filling both easily rent, the stuff is wholly bad. Pull out a few threads both ways and test their strength separately. Easy breaking means that they are loaded with earthy or metal salts to give weight and firmness without wear. Scrape the surface diagonally with the thumb nail. If threads slip under the scraping, let that particular silk alone. Rub well between the fingers—pure silk feels smooth and soft; that which is loaded, crisp, even harsh. Some silks have the face pure, the back loaded—wherefore test both sides. End by burning a bit. Real silk does not burn readily, and leaves a black ash. Weighted or loaded silk flashes up, burns swiftly, and leaves behind a dull-red ash.

=Woolens=: Test by raveling out and burning. Untwist a raveled thread—fibers of even, moderate length show pure wool. If there are a few fibers with clots all along them the cloth is most shoddy—that is to say, old wool ground up and mixed before spinning with a little new. After-treatment makes it look well, but there is mighty little wear. Snap a raveling between the hands—the harder the breaking the better the goods. Soak a few threads in a little alcohol. This to test the color. A tinge in the alcohol is to be expected, but if it becomes deep-colored, and especially if it becomes muddy, the dyeing is bad. Cotton mixture before spinning betrays itself in burning. Light a few threads or a snippet—the smell will tell the truth.

=Linen=: Test linen in much the same fashion: ravel, untwist a thread, and draw gently till resolved into original fibers. Cotton will show soft, even a little fuzzy, in spite of mercerizing. Linen is woven from flax fibers, which are always straight and thready, no matter how fine. Burning gives out the smell of cotton where there is an appreciable mixture. Test for fading by wetting in white soapsuds and drying in sunshine or in front of a fire.

=Cottons=: Prints, muslin, lawns, sheeting, and so on, should be torn across and lengthwise to test strength, nail-scraped, and rubbed betwixt the fingers to discover if they are dressed too much, and dried in sunshine for fading. Use will soften the fastest colors. In buying for children get extra stuff and send it to wash each time with the frocks, so when needed for re-making there shall be no glaring contrast.

=Forethought:= Begin before the beginning if you would sew easily. Set a machine, well cleaned and oiled, where the light will fall over the operator’s shoulder. For dressmaking, cover the floor with a sheet of unbleached muslin tacked down smooth. Have a form for fitting, a tall mirror, a table, with drop leaves if possible, and two bentwood chairs, with a low rocker for basting and pressing in. At the right hand of it hang on the wall a thin board with wire nails driven from the back in treble row. Upon one row stick basting-spools, upon others spools of silk, cotton, and twist. Upon a shorter upper row put cheap thimbles. Have screw hooks at bottom for hanging shears, small scissors, tape measure, pencil, and needle book. A screw eye in each upper corner of the board slipped over nails or screw-hooks will hold it fast.

Hang a similar board on the wall back of the machine, and furnish the nails in it with spools of thread—all sorts the machine may require. Put a hook at bottom for special machine scissors, and hang upon another hook a small, flat, open pocket to hold wisps of absorbent cotton for wiping off oil, a tiny bottle of alcohol for removing spots of it, and a couple of finger stalls and two short bandages to save pricked fingers from making blood spots. A starch bag, very porous, for covering such spots instantly, is also advisable with fine light-colored work.

Tack against the wall over the table a square of denim holding three long pockets, set crosswise, for patterns. Keep patterns folded flat, not rolled. Press smooth before using, and let lie till cool, so they will not curl. Hang a small well-filled pincushion below the pattern pockets, also leaves of flannel filled with basting-needles. Set close by a firm-standing waste basket with a wide mouth. Throw into it all useless clippings as fast as made.

=Cutting Out:= Spread plain-surfaced things, as silk, linen, serge, and lighter woolens, double upon the table, which must be at full length. Lay on patterns, having regard to warp and woof threads. Let warp run up and down, woof around. In cutting a bodice the woof threads should make a sort of belt. Thus they pull true, and the seams are an easy bias. Lay on the whole pattern as nearly as space allows, and study economy of material in arranging the pieces, but not at the cost of getting threads wrong. Cut with sharp shears, taking care to allow for seams when requisite. Lay off pieces as cut out, but keep the cloth steady by means of light weights. Patterns are best pinned in place, but with long lines, as skirts or draperies, books laid on as weights are better, besides being easier.

Things with a nap, as broadcloth and corduroy, must not be cut with cloth double from each end. If the goods is double-fold, cutting double is desirable. Otherwise cut so the nap runs the same in each piece. This also applies in case of figured stuffs with a decided up and down. To make a waist or coat pattern smaller lay a crosswise plait from armhole to edge, and cross it with a lengthwise one of equal width. Enlarge a pattern by cutting it across instead of plaiting it and pasting in strips of paper. Alter skirt lengths usually at the bottom; either fold up or allow extra. If too wide, fold down along each edge to keep proportions.

=Basting:= Baste shoulder seams with the upper half of the fronts stretched tight, the back held a little full. Pressing heals the puckers, which give the smooth fit over the hollow of the shoulder not otherwise attainable. Use fine firm thread for basting, with a large-eyed needle. Take medium running stitches in seams to be fitted; with edges to be held for sewing together make the stitches very long, and set them so far back the stitching will not catch them.

=Pressing:= Have a small board covered with flannel, then with muslin, for pressing. An alcohol stove for heating irons saves time and trouble. Keep it with the iron inside a handy box, upon which it can be set when lighted. Do not damp woolen things before pressing. Moisten silk very slightly, linen rather more, and cotton, as in linings, most of all. Press rounding seams, such as armholes and rolling collars, over the end of the board. Press sleeve seams with the small end of the board inside. Sew up and press outer sleeve seams before sewing inner ones. Do the same with very tiny trousers. Where pressing must be done on the right side cover with a thin cloth very slightly dampened.

=Things Applied:= Lace, insertion, _motifs_, and so on, need to be set on the cloth and sewed firmly in place, then to have the cloth cut out underneath. Turn cut edges back and stitch or sew again. Ribbon trimmings, unless gathered, are best put on by hand, with very long stitches on the wrong side, very short ones on top. Bands or borders applied as hems should be sewed on to the edge, turned over it, not flat with it, then basted down and stitched at the upper edges. Hold true in sewing on—a pucker or stretching ruins the fit. Miter corners very neatly, and stitch upon the wrong side. In putting in a fold or piping baste with the double edge even with the edge of the garment, or the band, then turn over and baste before stitching. Hold lace a little full on rounding edges so it shall not hoop nor draw.

Make fancy yokes, put on the collar, then arrange smoothly on the form, put over the bodice, fit together, and set a thick row of pins where they are to join. If the bodice edge is finished, pin together—if it is to be sewn in, leave it free. An overlapping yoke had better have the bodice cut almost full height, and the surplus cut away after the yoke is put on.

=Making Over:= Begin making over by refurbishing—cleaning, dyeing, pressing, turning. Rip, pick out stitches, take out spots, and brush.

=Dyeing:= Dyeing is easy. Use cotton or woolen dyes according to need. But first wash stuffs very clean. Discharge color by soaking several hours in suds, or cream-of-tartar solution, boiling half an hour in clear water, and dye while still hot. Have a roomy dye pot, drop into it all parts of a garment at once to make the new color uniform. Have the stuff loosely crumpled, stir down instantly with a clean wooden stick. Lift after a minute to air, stir down again, and finish according to directions. Each dye has its own special limitations. Knitted woolens, as sweaters, caps, and so on, must not be soaked nor boiled, only washed quickly, covered with clear hot water, let stand a minute, then squeezed out and put into the pot. Silk should not be washed unless very dirty; clean with gasolene instead, but wet with clear hot water before dyeing. If it loses body after washing, dip into stale beer or weak gum water (see section Renovators) or else stiffen with weak sugar water, and iron while damp. A black kid glove cut up and boiled in a gallon of water till reduced one-half makes a good stiffener for black silk, also for mixtures of silk and wool. This, whether they are dyed or merely washed. So does stale beer.

Tack lace to strips of cloth before dyeing and leave on them till washed and pressed. Dyed net had better be partly dried in crumpled heaps after washing, then stiffened and pressed.

=Gasolene-cleaning=: Take out spots (see section Spots), then plunge in a clean vessel, pour on gasolene to cover, wash quickly, laving rather than rubbing or wringing. Change to clean gasolene, wash again, then hang to air at least ten hours. This must be done away from fire or light. Press on the wrong side, and roll around a rod or mailing-tube instead of folding.

=Washing Silk and Cloth=: Tack, matching pieces together, right sides in, wash double in warm white soapsuds, rinse twice, keeping temperature even, and hang to dry without wringing. Take down when damp, and iron double, going first over one side, then the other. Stiffen by wiping over ahead of the iron with stale beer, glove liquor, or cold coffee or weak tea, for silk; with very thin starch or gum water for woolens. Roll after pressing. Iron cloth the way of the nap, not across it. Figured silk and brocade should be ironed on a soft board.

=Freshening Lace=: A bath in stale beer with draining afterward freshens rusty black lace, also stiffens it. It must be pressed when barely damp. Clean cream and light laces in gasolene, using a very little white soap if they are much soiled. Hang to air smooth—pressing hurts the look. Lying in powdered starch and magnesia for a week will often freshen laces. Mend them before cleaning (see section Making Whole). Shake free of powder—dust and grime will go with it—and smooth by laying back and forth between the leaves of a big book and putting on weight.

=Trimmings=: Clean ribbons, braids, galloons, and fringes in a bath of gasolene, changing at need, hang smooth to air, then press under weights, else roll inside a damp cloth for an hour, then press on the wrong side with a warm (not hot) iron. Wind braid about spools or tubes, and leave a day and night. Comb out fringes and wind around cardboard. In dyeing fringe fold compactly and sew inside a thin bag, then dye as usual. The bag prevents the fringe proper from matting.

=As to Turning=: Things worn threadbare had better be turned, either with or without dyeing. Darn the threadbare spots, loosely and sparsely, press—on the right side, of course. Press all over, then take stock of needs and materials. Make the most of every clothes opportunity.

=Freshening Velvet=: Raise the pile of crushed velvet by stretching over a wet cloth laid on the face of a very hot iron and brushing hard while the steam rises. This answers for spots and streaks—with a crushed surface or one so faded dyeing will help it, make into panne velvet by pressing on the right side while damp, laying the pile all one way. Velveteen and cotton-backed velvet dye poorly. Brush well, tack on a board, and paint with hot dye, using a soft brush. Let stand in air to set, then wash with a cloth and soapsuds, followed by rinsing. Press on the right side while still damp. This gives a surface passable for school hats or caps, or yokes and cuffs on made-over frocks.

=Save the Pieces=: In cutting down men’s clothes use the worn parts to interline smaller new garments. Use the very best for the outside, even though it necessitates piecing. Match threads and figures exactly, sew fast, and press hard, then piecing hardly shows. Do it before cutting out. With sleazy stuff whip over edges before sewing together. Avoid putting pieced seams where there will be constant pressure.

=Adaptation=: A jacket or coat worn along seams may be made to serve beautifully for a much smaller person by simply ripping all seams, trimming, and sewing again. Lengthen skirts outgrown by insets of embroidery or contrasting color. Make the waist to match, either with an inset or a deep girdle. Aim to make all changes so they shall look voluntary, not makeshift. In handing down outgrown garments be merciful enough to change them so the new possessor shall not be taunted for wearing. This is not hard; a new yoke, belt, and cuffs will transfigure a garment, to say nothing of the magic wrought by dyeing. Cut, fit, and finish madeovers quite as carefully as new things. Change trimmings—for moral and esthetic effect. Make several dyeings—it is piteous to see a whole family touched up with navy blue or wine-red or pink. Dyes are so cheap, dyeing so easy, give yourself the satisfaction of variety. If combining materials, dye them one after the other, the heaviest first. It is likely to be deepest. Use the lighter tint according to quantity and taste for foundation or accessories. Remember two good garments, or even one, will do more good than several skimped and spoiled.

=Millinery=: Steam hats of fancy braid soft, unpick, steam again, sew while soft, shape, and wire. To change color, paint over with dye, let dry thoroughly, then wipe over with a cloth wet in alcohol to remove surplus color. Or wash quickly with white soapsuds, drying in sunlight; or wipe over with alum water. None of these are necessary if the color does not rub off. Or veil with net, chiffon, lace, or grenadine. Cord the brim edge with silk or velvet, and shir the thin stuff inside. Shape by bending while still damp. Trim according to taste and fashion. Hats of beaver can be steamed a very little, then pressed over an improvised block—a fruit jar inverted, a crock, a tin pan, or bucket. Cover with a damp cloth while pressing. Begin on something of little value, learning by experience. Hats of velvet or silk or lace must be unpicked, freshened, and made up anew, using new shapes. Lingerie hats require simply washing and reshaping over clean frames with fresh or freshened ribbons.

Restore ribbon and velvet as already directed. To improve crushed and faded flowers touch the backs of the petals thickly with gum arabic (see section Renovators), let dry, then dip in gasolene, lave quickly, and pass on into more gasolene which has had a tube of oil color dissolved in it. Work quickly, moving the flower sprays about so they shall not be blotched nor streaked. Lay on soft paper to dry in airy shade. Big flowers—roses, orchids, poppies—had better be separated before dyeing, then remounted. Touching up the hearts with oil color rubbed smooth in a little poppy oil, using a camel’s-hair brush, is a further improvement.

Stiff fancy feathers can be dyed, not by dipping, but painting with hot dye, and taking off the surplus by brushing hard when dry with corn starch and prepared chalk in fine powder. Touch mounting very lightly—they are founded on glue. If ill-colored, conceal them with _choux_ of ribbon or velvet or a made ornament.

Fine feathers should go to professionals—at least, until their owners learn to color cheap ones. Draggled soft feathers may be colored with gasolene and tube paint, shaking hard while they dry so there shall be no clotting. Strip off when dry, and tie the flues into pompons about lengths of stiff wire with loops in the end. Wind the wire with silk thread or cover with a spiral of tissue paper. Two or three shades of the same color tied thus make a handsome ornament for any school hat.

Clean white and light plumes by sprinkling very lightly with gasolene, then burying a week in corn starch and magnesia. Shake out the powder, beat the plumes steadily but gently against the palm, then comb very gently with a coarse clean comb, and hold in the steam of a kettle. Curl, if you like, by drawing the flues, a few at a time, over the edge of a blunt knife, taking care to draw so steadily there is no breaking.

=Ornaments=: Mark what you wish—buckle, butterfly, star, crescent, dagger, or quill—accurately upon rather fine buckram, sew fine wire over the outlines, then cut out neatly. Cover with silk or velvet. Make a butterfly body of velvet very slightly padded with wings of silk. Sew firm, turning stuff well over edges, then sew on beads, any sort you like. Make them imitate butterfly markings, cover a quill as though flues, fill star surfaces completely, but simply edge crescents and buckles. After edging put inside bigger beads, of contrasting color. The beading done, cover the whole under side neatly with soft thin silk or net. Quills need a stout center wire. Crystal, with a tip of gold beads or silver and bronze or jet with silver and rhinestones, deftly managed make effective ornaments.

VII

REMEDYING SPOTS, STAINS, AND TARNISH

=Grease Spots in Wood=: Scour unpainted wood with clean sand after pouring strong lye upon the grease spot. If it is very obstinate, cover with a paste of prepared chalk, corn starch, and whiting wet with ammonia, let stand two days, and scour. Grease stays on varnished surfaces; wash it off with warm borax soapsuds and follow, after wiping dry, by a hard rubbing with alcohol and turpentine mixed. Machine oil must be taken out with either gasolene or alcohol, then scoured with cold suds—heat sets it.

Dust greasy walls thickly with powdered chalk or whiting, brush off after a day, and repeat. For a small but staring spot lay chalk thickly between net, hold it flat against the spot, with a very hot iron over it. Commonly this will take up the grease. Chalk or whiting wet with alcohol to a thin paste and left to dry on grease spots, then gently brushed off, will remove grease. But with paper badly spotted it is best to take it off and put on a fresh length.

Machine oil on garments old or new must be taken out with gasolene, else washed in white soap and cold water. If spots are black as well as greasy, lay them face down upon a thick cloth and pour alcohol or gasolene through, not rubbing the spot proper, but sawing it back and forth against the cloth underneath—thus the black is not imbedded in the fabric. Lay thin things spotted face down and dab hard repeatedly with a swab of cotton tied in net and wet with gasolene. Move the spots to clean surfaces, and swab till clean. Lay silk and gauze, especially delicately colored ones, over a layer of calcined magnesia mixed with corn starch, and pour through either grain alcohol or chloroform. Wet very lightly a ring around the spot of unspotted fabric and work from it inward to the spot. This to save annoying circles.

Take grease out of woolens with a flood of gasolene, changing it as it grows dirty. If caked dirt shows afterward, wash with naphtha soap, applying lather to the spot, holding a very hot iron a little way from it for a minute, then washing off with hot water. Instead of the iron you may hold the spot to the spout of a boiling kettle, letting the steam penetrate it. Greasy coat collars and heavy garments blotched with spilled food demand washing in suds besides the washing in gasolene.

For a greasy carpet mix whiting and cornmeal, make hot, sift on thickly, cover with gasolene, and rub hard and quickly until the gasolene evaporates, then sweep very clean and wipe with a damp cloth. If gasolene involves fire risks, leave the powder standing for several days, sweep off, and repeat if the grease is not all gone.

Axle-grease spots or any other partly resinous must be softened with oil, then taken out with gasolene or turpentine. Washing, even boiling, sets them. It is the same with linseed-oil spots. Take them out with turpentine followed by gasolene.