Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1894-08-16
ABOUT BLACK SILK.
Secrets an the Trade That Prevent shoppers
From Making Bad Bargains.

From Making Bad Bargains.
There are really very few women who
can distinguish between good black
silk and an inferior one, and few
hints given by an expert and reported
in The Delineator will doubtless be ao-
ceptable to many shoppers:
In the first place, never be beguiled
into buying cheap silk. Very often a
pretext for its cheapness suggests gon-
uine bargain, but the wise woman, I'M
less she knows of good reason for the
reduction, will choose some other ma
terial if she cannot afford to purchase
silk at an adequate price. Costumes is
of course no guarantee of real value, so
the shopper is advised to purchase an
eighth of a yard of an admired fabric
and test it at leisure when she reaches
home. This may seem like waste to
the overeconomical mind, but it will
prove good investment if it prevents a
bad bargain in the end.
In testing piece of silk first try to
tear it both lengthwise and crosswise.
If it gives way readily in either direc.
ton, you may be sure either that the
dye has destroyed the fibers or that the
thread is made up & what is known as
"waste silk Pure silk properly dyed
is the strongest textile known, but near
ly all the cheaper dyes, and particularly
the dark colors and black, are made
with such basis that they eat into and
weaken the fabric.
% no ho
proved by scraping diagonally across
the silk with the thumb nail. If the
material is strong and pure, any amount
of manipulation will not make the
threads slip, and if the nail makes a
space as wide as it's own thickness be-
tween the threads the silk is certainly
of inferior quality. The next test is ap-
piled by travelling bit of the silk and
carefully examining both warp and
wool. Often pure silk warp has a
heavily loaded wool, and in other cases,
especially in satin weaves, the wool has
an inferior backing, the surface being Of
good silk. Pure silk has good luster
and is very soft, but if the gloss is arti-
fetal the fabric will be hard and brittle.
When pure silk has been dyed improp-
erly, it looks very much like cotton,
but it is somewhat softer.
Another excellent test consists in pull
ing out the threads both ways and try
ing their strength. Catch them with
both hands an inch apart, give quick
jerk and note the force needed to break
them. If they part easily, the silk is not
good. Tear the silk along the lines from
which the threads have been taken, and
if there are Fuckers along the tear they
may be regarded as indicating strong
texture. A method of testing that )
considered conclusive is to burn frag-
ment of the silk and also some of the
Rawlings. If the silk is pure and well
dyed, it will take fire slowly, even
when held directly in the fame, and
the fire will go out almost as soon as
the silk is withdrawn, leaving ashes
that are nearly jet black. Weighted and
improperly dyed silk is highly inf..n-
mable. 1t quickly takes fire, and the ire
is difficult to extinguish, smoldering
after the silk is removed from the fame
and leaving ashes that keep the shape
of the cloth and are Of light yellow
ish red tint Cotton in the fabric can be
readily detected by the odor Of the
smoke. Every woman should remember
that the requisite qualities Of good silk
are strength, smoothness, luster, rich
ness and lightness, no matter how thick
the material.