Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-03-09
A SENSIBLE TROUSSEAU.

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A WEDDING OUTFIT FOR THE
EVERYDAY AMERICAN GIRL.
Gowns for Economical Wcar-Cid-
Fashioned UndeSwear-Stock
| of Household Linen-Etc.
Although our American maidens go por-
! tionless to their husbands far more FREE
quently than do their European cousins,
they go not utterly empty-handed, for the
humblest American mother will stint and
scrape and save until she can purchase at
least few new garments for the daughter
about to leave her house forever In
deed, so fixed is this idea among our
daughters as among their mothers
that many an American maiden has de-
layed her marriage until with her own
hands she has earned enough to procure a
few wedding clothes" These new gar
ments, be they few or many, constitute
the American girls trousseau.
| We have pretty generally adopted the
foreign word, but many of us have
failed to accept it in its full
meaning, saws Hdper's Bazar, as
abroad the trousseau includes, be-
sides the personal apparel of the bride. q
full supply Of household linen. In Ger
many, and in many parts of France, the
thrifty and far-seeing mother begins tc
treasure linens for the daughter still tod.
ding in her creepers, adding to them yeal
by year, until upon the approach of hel
marriage day the ancient chest reveals q
plentiful store, so gradually accumulated
that the attendant expense has scarcely
been felt.
A trousseau, when provided by Ameri
can parents in ordinarily comfortable cir
cumstances, should by all means contain
both household linen and personal appare
in quality and quantity sufficient To last al
least a year or two. Household linen.
may be divided into three classes-tee
linen, table linen and kitchen linen.
Dining-room and kitchen will be mod
erately well supplied with eight to twelve
table cloths of varied length, two to thres
dozen napkins, dozen doilies, half {
dozen tray cloths, four to six long strips o.
linen known as table runners, to be used
instead of the old style table mats, a dozer
dish towels, as many more of softer mate
rial for glass towels, and half Il dozer
roller towels.
Two dozen towels, dozen sheets, two oil
three white bed spreads of honey-comb va.
riety, heavier one to be used as a coun-
terpane, a dozen pairs Of pillow slips, q
wadded, or, if possible, an elder down
quit, pair of pillow shams and blanket
will answer for bed linen. Square pillow
slips can be plainly hemmed and arranged
to button over the pillow. Long ones re-
quire trimming of some kind on the open
end, and must be cut long enough to hang
below the pillow. These cut more adj
vantageously and require but one side
seam when made from tive-quarter muslin
Such stock of household linen can be
obtained in good quality for from seventy
five to one hundred dollars; with ordinary
usage and ordinary care the young house
keeper will require no new linens for at
least four or five years, excepting, perhaps,
kitchen linen.
THE MARKING OF THE LINEN.
1t is customary to mark all the articles
in the trousseau. While a few mark every
thing with the initials of the brides
maiden name, others again prefer the
initial of the groom's family name Usually
a monogram, like J. NJ. B., for John and
Mary Brown, or the three initials, alone
are used on household linen, and NJ, or NJ
B., appears on personal linen. Kitchen
linen is marked With single letter IN cross
stitch worked in red marking cotton.
The letters on table and bed linen should
always be white, worked in satin stitch en-
broidery over solid filling. They are lsul-
ally from two to three inches in length on
everything except the napkins On these
the letters must be similar in style, but a
size or two smaller Fanciful letters are no
longer used. Whether script, old English,
or Latin text be employed, they are con-
sidered more effective if severely plain.
Towels with co!ored borders may be
worked with white, or with flax threads OF
harmonizing shade.
Whether the monogram, the group OF
three letters, or the single letter is chosen,
it is usually embroidered in two places on
tablecloths which measure three yards or
over Find the center of the cloth by
folding crosswise and lengthwise Each
set of letters should be placed on the
lengthwise fold, and each one should be
fourteen to sixteen inches from the center
There will now be about three quarters OF
a yard between the two sets of letters, but
if this space be considered too small for a
center piece, it can be heightened to suit
Each set of letters will now be in con-
spicuous place upon the table but they
must be SO placed that looking toward the
center from the foot, as well as frors the
head OF the table, one can read them at a
glance.
Smaller tablecloths are marked about
ten inches above the hem, and equidistant
from the two corners on one side. Nap
kins, tray cloths and doilies are marked in
one corner. Sheets are marked about ten
inches below the center of the upper hem
In making up the bed the upper sheet is
laid with its right side downward, and when
folded back over the quilt it assumes its
| proper appearance. The initials must stand
with their base toward the hem. Square pill
low cases are marked in the middle, about
two inches from the top. On long ones
the letters run parallel with the hem
These long slips must be marked in pairs
so that when in use the initials on the one
will be to the right and those on the other
to the left. Towels are marked on their
lengthwise fold, about two inches above
the border.
FOR A DAINTY BED.
For those who like dainty bed aud
who desire the upper sheet TO harmonic
with the embroidered or lace-t trimmed
pillow slips comes what is known as the
sham sheet. 1t is ten quarters wide and
four to five quarters long. 1t is trimmed
only on one of the two long sides, the other
one and the two short sides being left
plain. Like the pillow-slips, they may be
edged with lace or Hamburg edgiDg, be
hemstitched or scalloped out with button
hole stitch, or be decorated with border
of drawn-work, of fine tucks, of insertion
of heavy brier- stitching, or combination
of all of them These are invariably
marked with monogram or the three