Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-08-07
ABOUT BLACK SILK.
crets of the Trade That Prevent shopper
From Making bad bargains


From Making bad bargains
There are really very few women who
can distinguish between n good black
silk and an inferior one, and n few
hints given by an expert and reported
in The Delineator will doubtless be &c
ceptable to many shoppers:
In the first place, never be beguiled
into buying cheap silk Very often n
pretext for its cheapness suggests gen
uine bargain. but the wise woman, I'M
less she knows of a good reason for the
reduction, will choose some other ma
terial il she cannot afford to purchase
silk ut an adequate price. Costumes Is
of course no guarantee OF real value, 50
the shopper is advised to purchase an
eighth of n yard of an admired fabric
and test it Mt leisure when she n aches
home. This may seem like a waste To
the overeconomical mind. but it will
prove good investment il it prevents
bad bargain in the end.
In testing n piece of silk first try to
tear it both lengthwise and CrOsswise-
II it gives way readily in either direc-
ton, You may be suro either that the
dye has destroyed the fibers or that the
thread is made up Of what is known as
waste silk" Pure silk properly dyed
is the strongest textile known, but near
II all the cheaper dyes. and particularly
tho dark colors and black, are made
with such a basis that they eat into and
weaken the fabric.
The firmness of the weave may be
proved by scraping diagonally across
the silk with the thumb nail II the
material is strong and pure, any amount
of manipulation will not make the
threads slip. and if the nail makes \
space rs wide as its 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
woof. Often pure silk warp has n
heavily loaded Wool and in other cases,
especially in satin weaveS, the wOOf has
an inferior backing. the surface being of
good silk. Pure silk has n 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 a strong
texture. 4 method of testing that is
considered conclusive is to burn a frag-
ment Of the silk and also some Of the
Rawlings. II 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 a.
the silk is withdrawn. leaving ashe:
that are nearly jet black Weighted and
improperly dyed silk is highly infiam'
mable. 1t quickly takes fire. and the flrs
is difficult TO extinguish. smoldering
after the silk Is removed from the flame
and leaving ashes that keep the shaps
of the cloth and are Of light yellow
ish red tint Cotton in the fabric can b
readily detected by the oior Of th'
smoke Every woman should remember
that the requisite qualities of good sill
are strength. smoothness. luster. rich
ness and hghtncss, no matter how thicl
the material