Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1881-10-06
Home Dressmaklug.


will do well to resurrect the obsolete
garments, and rip off the trimmings to
use again. No feature of white lace is
more highly valued than the peculiar
creaminess which is given by age; so it
Is no matter If "A score of years has
passed since it saw the lght-if time
has spared its strength, it is all the
more desirable for the use of to-day. 1t
is not n very long time since imitation
laces fonnd no market III America Our
English sisters have ornamented their
pretty evening dresses with them freely
for the last half-dozen years, but here
We have eyed them with scorn and sus-
picion, till of late, imported dresses of
undoubted style converted us to their
use. This summer dealers offer us fully
twenty-five varieties of imitation lace,
many of them exceedingly pretty, and
some expensive enough to demand con-
slderatiOn from those whose admiration
for ali article is governed by its cost.
A dress worn at a Saratoga hotel by
one of the visitors in race week recalls a
hint for making such dress, given a
long time ago in these articles. The
present fancy for lace makes the idea
even more worthy of attention than
when first mentioned. While the slight
cost of the costume, as made ut home will
be its Recommendation to economists,
there Is no reason to believe that the
dress which was admired at the water
ing place was inexpensive; on the con-
trary, the probability is that it was i'm
ported for the wearer. The dress was
made of white Brussels net, it was once
called, but the nearest approach to the
fabric sold as such then is now the fI e
mosquito lace, not the coarse stuff with
the square bar, but net with mesh,
like In kind, but not size, to the cane
seats of chairs. The overskirt was
darned in showy pattern, such as is
frequently seen upon tides, with linen
thread. The back of the skirt was cov-
cred with three wide ruffies of the lace,
bordered with a darned pattern, and
the lowest ruffie extended all around
the bottom of the dress. The waist
was thickly covered with stripes in the
darning stitch representing inserting,
and the sleeves were decorated In the
same way. The underdress in this case
was of white Surah satin, Sleeveless
and low square neck, but any old white
or pale evening silk dress could be
worn i'll its place; even very indiffer-
ent silk could be used without its de-
fects being percepdble through the
rutfiing and figuring of the lace. Darn
ed hdles are SO easy to make, and have
been for long time such popular
style of fancy work, that most young
ladies have had some experience in that
line, and if a handsome evening dress
happens to be the desire of any young
lady's heart, she will not shrink from
the labor involved in getting up a dress
like the one described. The cost will
be next to nothing, if the edge of the
overskirt is finished by deep scallops
run with several rows of linen, and
deep hem turned on the bottom of the
ruffies just below the darned border
Countless yards of ruffled lace added to
the dressiness of the costume Just de-
scribed, but to many tastes the sim
phcity of the finish just suggested
would give the dress charm besides
making it much easier to wash if it ever
needed to pass through that process,
which is doubtful, as lace does not catch
dirt as easily as other fabrics.
French writer's predict a remittance
into fashion of striped materials. They
were considered out of date last season,
and merchants reduced the prices of
those on hand so much that some great
bargains are still to be secured. Shop
pers with slender purses would do well
to avail themselves of some of these OPP
portunities, as some very durable and
excellent goods are being sold at the
bargain counters, to leave room for new
fall stock 1t is the habit of many ex.
perienced housekeepers to make most |
of their purchases between seasons.
The opportunity for choice is small, but |
compensation for that lies in the prices,
which are far below those of new goods. |
Black silks have been out of favor for
the last few years, in consequence of
the popularity of satins and brocades,
but there is no danger of their staying |
out of style any great length of time,
and now is the time to purchase them,
for both the French and those of Ameri-
can manufacture are being sold very
cheaply. A black silk dress is always
handsome and desirable, and for people
who rarely buy rich dress, and must
of necessity make that dress last forev-
er, there is nothing to equal black
silk, for it goes triumphantly through
the changes of fashion as no other gar
ment can. Even if more snowy styles
prevail, the wearer of well made black
silk dress can be certain, under all cir
of being ladylike in ap-
pearance.
This is time when dressmaking is at
rather a standstill in most families, and
people are generally at leisure to do