The Washington times., 1895-06-23
BLEAcHING LEGHoRS HATS.
1t is Not Difficult To Clean Old Straw
or Even Change Their COlors-

| It is Not Difficult To Clean old Straw
or Even Change Their COlors-
| If you are one of those enterpriSiDS
women who enjoy doing for themselves
the many little things, the cost or which,
| taken in the aggregate, mai so startling a
| proportion of the months expenses, you
will be glad 10 know that the light ieghorn
| hats of the family may be successfully
| bIeached at home, and by the very same
ethods which are employed 10y those who
make bleaching ard pressing their bus mess.
/ The first and regular method is that
| of bleaching with sulphur. This method is
/ best pursued out of doors. Get barrel,
place in the bottom tin pan, in which is
lsome charcoal and 8 or 10 cents worth
of sulphur.
First wash your hat with buttermilk,
rub it thoroughly. then Tie a string from
side to side, so that you can suspend 1t
| inside the top of the barrel. Light the
charcoal aud cover the barrel closely with
carpet or any heavy material; leave il until
! the charcoal burns out and the fumes or the
| sulphur have done their work thoroughly.
! You viii find the hat as White as though
| it had come from professional bleacher.
| The second or irregular" method is
| easier aud quicker, but would not advise
| its use in the case of an especially fine or
expensive hat, as il is more injurious TO the
material: but for ordinary leChoTnS and
lstrawS, good for but one more seasons
use, it is very satisfactory aud as ineXpen-
| sive as the others.
Take a few grains of oxalic acid and dis
| solve them in soft water, or weak So
| luton of oxalic acid may be had at the
| drug store. This acid is poisonous, and If
left upon paper, clothing or the hands,
Will, if at all strong, eventually eat its
way through fabric or skin. The solution,
therefore must be weak.
Use stiff brush aud seour the hat with
/ ha WI This W only
clean but bleach the straw. Next rinse it
| in clear, soft water and press into shape.
The pressing may be done by inserting
piece of stiff pasteboard inside the rim Of
| the crown. or, better still, by putting
cloth over an inverted pail or similar tin
Leave it till nearly dry, then press the
lcTown by laying cloth over it ard iron
ing it over the tin, ard TIE rim may be
Iironed upon the table in the same manner,
always having a cloth between the iron
and straw.
A medium or dark -colored hat may be
made a good shade of black by applying
everal coats of good shoe polish wieh a
stiff brush, but white hat can only be
colored black by dyeing. To accomplish
this first clean the hat by leaving it over
night IN a solution of cooking soda, one
ounce OF soda to a half gallon of soft
water. Rinse thoroughly in the morning
and put at once into the dye as the straw
TO make the dye, dissolve a package OF
dye in sufficient water TO cover the hat
well, aud add one teaspoonful OF salt for
each quart of water. Let the hat boil for
an hour in the dye, remove from fire and let
it cool in the dye, then rinse and place to dry
When nearly dry, press as already directed.
Hats of various shades may be colored
to match suit by an easy process, which
does not destroy the shape, If the contrast
i'll color is not too great. To do this. dis
solve package OF dye of the shade re-
quired i'll a little alconoI and add half
pint of shellac varnish. Apply with a sufr
brush. More alcohol and less varnsh viii
make the hat more pliable; the proportion
must be determined by the nature OF the
straw.
II the black hat, when dyed. lacks luster,
t NAV. be brushed over with solution OF
one ESlf ounce of bonnet glue in ore pint
of water.