Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1894-06-05


Every fashion that has once been very
popular 10 certain 10 return amer . Ger
tain period Of retiremcnt. Black ak,
the delight Of tbs economical soul and
1t one time the highest ambition OF eI'
derby women, has been restored 70 favor
In the feminine wardrobe. There u no
fabric that IL at once % Eeutcel, 90
dressy and 90 serviceablc ~ black sllk
Of good quality, nor 10 there any that
Gala Tor more care In the buying. There
are really very few women who can die.
tlnguish between . good black silk and
On Inferior one, and . few hlnts that
were given me BY an expert wili doubt.
lcss be acceptable TO many inexperienced
shoppers.
In the fr,t place, never be beguiled
Into buying cheap elk. Very omen
pretext for la chespness suggests .
genuine bargain, but the wise woman,
unless abe knows Of . good reason Tor
the reduction wlll choose some Other
material u she cannot Afford TO purchass
silk at an adequate price. Costliness 10,
of course, no guarantee OF real value, "a
the sbopper IL advised To purchase "a
eighth Of . yard Of an admired fabris
and test lt at leisure when she reaches
home. This may seem like waste TO the
oyer-economlcal mind, but IL will prove
good investment u Il prevents = bad
bargain In the end.
In testlng q piece Of silk, first try q
tear u both lengthwise and cross~lse; u
u gives way readily In either direction
you may be- sure either that the dye hs'
destroyed the iibrrs or that the thread u
made up Of what IL known a. "wast'
silk." Pure silk properly dyed IL III,
strongest textile known, but nearly 81
the cheaper dyes, and particularly IN,
dark colors aud black, are made Will
such basis that they eat Into and weak
en- the fabric.
The nrmness Of the weave may h
proved by scrAplng diagouAlly acros'
the silk With the thumb-nail. II the ma
teriai IL strong aud purr, any amount 81
manipulation will not make the thrcadl
slip; and II the nall makes . space ~
Vide ~ LIS own thickness between TIN
threads, the elk IL certainly 81 inferio'
quality. The next test IL applied by raw
cling Q bit Of the silk and carefully En-
aiming both warp and woof. Often
pure elk warp has heavily loaded woof
aud In other cases, especially In sstif
weaves, the woof has an inferior bsck
Ing, the surface being Of good silk. Pur'
silk has good iustre aud IL very son
but u the gloss IL artificial, the fabri'
will be hard and brittle. when . Pur'
silk has been dyed improperly, u look
very much like cotton, but II IL some
what softer. =.
Another excellent trst consists Ia rull
Ing out the threads both ways and try In
their strength. Catch them With boti
hands an Inch spsrt, give . quick JERK
and note the force needed Ia break them
IL they part easily, the silk 10 not good
Tear the silk along the lines from which
the threads have been taken; and II Their
are Fuckers along the tear, they may h
regarded ~ Indicating . strong texture
4 method Of testing that IL considers
conclusive 10 TO burn . fragment OF tn
.ilk, and also some of the Rawlings. U
the sllk .. pure and we'll dyed, IL ~il
take Are slowly, even when held direct!
In the flame. and the fre Will go on
almost as soon ~ the sllk is Withdrawn
leaving ashes that are nearly Jet-bisck
Weighted aud improperly dyed silk ]
highly inhsmmAble. IL quickly take
fir.. aud the firc IL difficult To extinguish
smouldering after the silk IL removes
from the dame and leaving ashes tia
keep the shape Of the cloth aud are OF
light, yellowish-red tint. Cotton In tn
fabric can be- readily detected by th
odor of the smoke. Every woman shoul'
remember that the requisite gualitie. o
good silk are strength, smoothness, lus
tire, richness and llshtness, no matte
how thick the material. Knowing al
these secrets Of the trade, no shoppe
should make q bad bargain In silk TIL
year.