River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1891-10-01
HOW TO SELECT SILK.
Some Ancient Deiu.ions Concerning This
Fabric.

Some Ancient Deiusions Concerning This
Fabric
Time was when the silk gown was
nightly aloft, only readable by for
tunate few, and coveted, but never at
tanned. by the way-down many. TWAS
not an affair of season-It was a per-
manent property" held as token of
distinction, and to its last thread de-
seconded from generation to generation
as an insignia of the family standing"
Time is when the average woman de-
string to wear that SORT of garment can
do SO, and II may be beautiful and serv-
iceable of color and texture, though not
of the best grade of mat~rial-an actual
silk. not shoddy manufactured from a
mixture of silk and cotton rawlings,
nor cotton weavings with a top wisp of
silk. 1t seems that womankind has the
presumption right TO revel in the lus-
trous stuffs brought about through her
nuptial vow Ito obey" Some 2.700
years before the Christian dawning the
Chinese emperor. Hyaug Tee, much
like an occasional modern husband not
at all heathenish. was greatly agitated
by the idleness of his womanfolk.
Therefore he ordered his empress to de-
wise a method OF usefulness for them,
doubtless actuated by large-sized in
tention to keep the madam herself oc-
cupied. History does not relate that
See-Ling- Shee was of a spiteful turn of
mind and found consolation in getting
even when she was herself tormented by
prosecuting others, so we are left to
imagine that she set the court woman
folk to watching and tending great
green. squirming, sixteen-legged. bulge
eyed worms! Aud thus for the delight
of the sex universal of A. ID. 1891 was
originated the silk industry.
Plentiful as silk fabrics now are in
the market, with reason, it may be sup
posed, that they will become more so,
since the production of the material
used in their manufacture is becoming
a more general business, and the weav-
ing of the delicate threads can now be
successfully accomplished by other than
few old-world looms.
In the manufacture of silk, after the
outside, loose, fiossy structure is taken
from the cocoon, the thread is reeled
upon spindles. Threads that reel from
cocoons without frequent breaks are
known on the market as raw silk"
and are used in the manufacture of the
high-priced qualities, which are supe-
rior in evenness of texture, in color and
in luster. The outside structure and
the inner layers of the cocoons, the
broken and tangled threads of imper-
feet or punctured cocoons, and the ends
left in Keeling. in twisting, and in
doubling raw silk-all these cuttings
are bullSed and spun and sold in the
market as ''spun silk" which is used in
the manufacture of low-priced silks
that are of standard wearing quality,
though they can not be made so lustrous
and soft and even and beautiful of color
as the 'raw-silk" fiber fabric.
Although there is an abundance of
durable, inexpensive robe-silk in the
market, the shops have full stock of
shining cloth, which, whenever pur-
chased turns out a reproach and a
shame upon ordinary Judgment in the
investment of money. The inexpe-
rienced buyer of silk should be wary of
the bargain that can stand alone"
The lower the price of heavy silk the
more likely it is to be mostly of SHIN
mered cotton or to be weighted with
dye stuff. Cheap corded and twilled
silks are seldom worth their price, being
cotton filled The ordinary China and
Japan weaves are always in good taste,
and usually give good satisfactory
wear, and the medium French and
American summer" qualities are de-
sirable and pretty.
The shopper should look TO it that
her purchase is not of the dyed-in-the-
piece sort. However good the quality,
as a garment it soon collapses into a
mottled limpness. The dipped" silk
may easily be detected by brackish
stiffness and by ''hatiron shine" that
a careless inspection mistakes for a
gloss. Never buy cheap black silk,
and do not depend upon cheap dark
browns Drabs, blues, and tans are the
most durable of ordinary qualities If
the price of the goods may be measured
by the desire of the shopper, becoming
ness of color and design need be the
only question involved in the purchase,
since best quality of silk is always a
wise investment and a credit to a lady's
wardrobe.
The leading autumn silk is the ben
galine, of which there are several new
weaves Chevrotine bengaline is thiclSly
stro wn with seed-like dots. showing a
satin effect, and is most stylish in gray,
mar ogany and reseda colors Brocaded
peau-de-cygne is exceptionally elegant
for dinner and reception wear With
black and dark grounds brocaded with
pale-tint blossoms the fabric is hand
somely developed with bengaline of the
same color as the unwoven design.
Light-colored. heavily corded silks,
such as veloutine and Muscovite, con-
tinue IN favor for evening wear, and
among the favorite colors may be men
toned twilight-pinlx, smoke-gray, Ores
den-blue, apple-green, acknowledgment,
ripe wheat. corn. pale-blue, Nile-green
and sea-green.-Chicago Times