The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-12-01
Aeour SLACK slL,<.s

Now TO Dlstingslsla = Decd Aftsele 2eso
1nfesaae OEaabss.
There are really very tow women
who can distinguish between good
black silk and an inferior one. and .
few hints given by IN expert and eo'
ported in the Delineator will doubtless
be acceptable to many shoppers:
In the first place never be beguils0
into buying cheap silk. Very often
pretext of its cheapness suggests
genuine bargain. but the wise woman.
unless she knows Of good reason for the
reduction. will choose some other ma
terlal If she cannot afford to purchase
silk at an adequate price. Costliness
is of course no guarantee OF real value,
SO the shopper is advised to purchase
IN eighth of a yard Of an admired
fabric and test it at leisure when abe
waste to the over-economical mind, hat
1t will provo . good investments il it
prevents a bad bargain In the end.
In testing piece Of silk first try to-
tear it both lengthwise and crosswiss.
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 Of what is known as
s'waste silk Pure silk properly dyed
is the strongest textile known, but
nearly all the cheaper dyes. and par
| ticularly the dark colors and black. arc
| into and weaken the fabric.
The 6rmness Of the weave may be
proved by scraping diagona1ly across
| the silk with the thumb nail. II the
material 1t strong and pure, any
| amount Of manipulation will not rnalke
| q space as wide as It's own thickness be.
tween the threads the silk is certainly
of inferior quality. The next test Is up
piled by travelling a bit of the silk and
carefully examining both warp and
woof. Often a pure silk warp has a
heavily loaded woof, and in other
cases, especially In satin weaves, the
wool has an inferior backing, tho sur
face being of good silk. Pure silk has
| a good luster and is very soft, hut Il
the gloss is artificial the fabric viii b
hard and brittle. When . pure silk has
been dyed improperly it looks very
much like cotton, but it IL somewhat
softer.
Another excellent test consists in
pulling out the threads both ways and
trying their strength. Catch them with
both hands an inch apart. give quick
jerk and note the force needed to breal,
them. If they part easily the silk il
not good. Tear the silk along the
lines from which the threads have Eeen
taken, and if there are Fuckers along
the tear they may he regarded as i1sdi
eating a strong texture. A method o.
testing that is considered conclusive, Il
to burn a fragment of the silk and als<
some of the rawlings. If the silk II
pure and well dyed it will take fire
slowly, even when held directly in the
| flame, and the fire will go out almos
! as soon as the silk is withdrawn, leav
ing ashes that are nenrly jet black
Weighted and improperly dyed silk Il
highly infiam1nable. It quickly talze
fire, and the fire is difficult to extin
guish, smoldering after the silk is re
moved from the flame and leaving
ashes that keep the shape of the clot1
and are Of q light yellowish red tint
Cotton in the fabric can be readily de
tected by the odor of the smoke. Ev
cry woman should remember that tn
requisite qualities of good silk ar
strength. smoothness, luster, richnes
and lightness, no matter how thick tn
material.