The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-04-12

| But all have seen the white feather
! NhereWlth the world hath snow
| Pail Mall Gazette.
| Tho Family Sewing.
March is often 4 month of cold, stormy
days, when Interruptions from the out
SIDE world will be few, and the attention
of the housewife can be all the better
concentrated upon new things or fur
bishing up old. Most women like an en-
tire day now and then to ransack closets,
and from their depths to unearth many Il
treasure which will fill an immediate
want i'll making over an Old garment or
the home. but which has been boarded
away so long that its unexpected reap
pearance is hailed with us much delight
as mlSer might evince at sight of
new gold-piece. These days afford such
u convenient time for remodeling old
dresses, and few yards of new material
which harmonizes or contrasts with the
better portions of an old gown oft-times
produces such II good effect that one al
most falls in love over again with Il
favorite gown which has hitherto been
considered too shabby to be worn. l
always feel an honest glow of gratifica-.
| ton at my successful attempts at econo-
my in this way, and frequently find a
made-over gown more effective than
! when new. Some dreaded repairs are
ever waiting, hanging like Damocles'
sword over the luckless feminine head;
ono of these is the refining and binding
of dress-skirts, which seem to wear out
and fray out with most unwarranted
rapidity. But the task should be faith
fully accomplished now, before the code
of New Year resolutions has time to
grow cold, for determination to never,
never wear an untidy dress-skirt springs
eternal in every tidy woman's breast, and
a few hours of interrupted work accom-
| plishes wonders in putting a snagged.
draggled skirt, binding into good order.
The worn bed clothing must be re-
placed by new, and there is a wrong
way rs well as a right way of making
! even such a common article as sheets.
Few are large enough In all my expert
ence in sleeping in strange beds l have
never found any too large. A good meas
urement for double bed is two and
half yards wide. A hem three or four
inches in depth should be turned in at one
emu, which is considered the top of the
sheet, and 4 hem one inch deep at the
! other end. Our grandmothers then
! marked in the center of the sheet, few
silk thread. the initials in cross stitch ac-
| curately counting the threads in the fin
est muslin or linen Every letter was
made by rule, seven cross stitches in
length by five in width, and just below
these the number of the sheets, so that
the sheets were always on the beds in
pairs. With their eyesig ht strained in
to understand why their granddaughters
have defective organs of vision and must
| resort to the woven letters for mark
ing. These can be purchased in red or
blue letters by the box each box contain
ing gross of initials and costing but a
e., l><4D fall
for making underclothing as well as bed
linen, and in !, family where there are
children the care of whose clothing de-
wolves upon Il busy mother. each child's
initial sewed to it's stockings and under
wear facilitates sorting the clothing and
adds in teaching habits of method and Or
der.
Sheets are sometimes made of linen,
but our climate is so cold and variable
that their use is not advised. When
used, however, a more elaborate finish
is permissible than in ordinary muslin,
and deep hem-stitching, with perhaps a
border of drawn work, is the usual mode.
below the hem, has superseded the once
popular monogram, and the embroidery
done in white always indicates more
refined taste than if a color, no matter
how delicate, is used. The bed linen for
bride prospective is always marked with
her own initial, as good form does not
permit the slightest intimation of haste
in the matter of the new name. In max
ing slips for pillows measurement three
inches wider than the pillow must be
taken to allow for seams and shrinkage.
When possible, muslin made especially
for pillowcases should be bought and the
selvages sewed together for the required
the muslin may extend lengthwise of
the pillows. Anyone who has been ac-
customed to using ordinary muslin for
this purpose will be agreeably surprised
at the extra length of time slips made
from the regular pillow-casing will wear.
of making slips. Sometimes they arc
made tritlc longer than the pillows
and secured by buttons and button
holes; sometimes an inch-Wide tuck with
embroidered edge, extending all the way
around, is added to the buttoned cases.
l best like them made quarter of a yard
longer than the pillow. and simply fin
back missing" from the laundry and bot
ton holes soon become holes indeed
only that and nothing more. If more
elaborate effect is desired the pillow
slips may be, like the sheets. Of linen,
with hem hcmstitched in and initial EN-
broidered to correspond with that of the
sheetng. For general wear | find the
hall -bleached shccting and pillow-casing
to be the most economical and satisfac
tory. 1t is fine, soft and firm, soon be-
comes perfectly white, and well resists the
gentle wooing of the wintry gale to be
torn quite to shreds while wildly Tapping
on the clothesline.
From Il hygienic point Of view blankets
are more desira bic than comfortables for
covering. yet their price often puts them
beyond the reach of housewives who have
numerous beds to furnish. Ii many per-
sons who sleep complacently beneath the
pretty, bright cOmfortables which have
been bought already made, could but see
the cotton filling beneath the attractive
minded of the old saying of
white glove that hides dirty
hand, for nearly always. even III the more
expensive grades, the cotton is of an infe,
r;or quality, dark in color, greasy in ap
ly be found by slightly ripping the cover
ing, Of one. A better plan is to buy mate
rial for the covering, fifteen yards being
a generous allowance for both sides; then
select three or four rolls of nice clean cot
ton batting: After half the covering is
three breadths, if no quilting frames arc
at hand, it may be laid smoothly upon
a bed wrong side up the cotton spread
evenly over it, and the other half of the
material carefully placed on the cotton
ihen win Drlgnt co!ore1 zephyr or yarn
the tying together of the two outsides is
uniformly space the knots. After the
knotting is completed the edges arc
trimmed evenly, turned in and sewed to.
gether by hand. Caution should be exer.
cised in buying material for comfortables
and such colors chosen as will not rub off, |
as it is embarrassing for members of the |
family to assemble at the breakfast table |
with the. colors of chintz roses. lilies and |
chrysanthemums almost indelibly stamped |
comfortable, quit or blanket that becomes |
most soiled, / keep mine headed with |
calico. This is not my invention. but it
is my practice, and find it very salts.
factory. From strong calico I make a
strip as long as the comfortable, quilt or
blanket and about thrce-fourths of yard
wide, folding this in the middle length.
wise and wrong size out. I now lay the
folded edge on the edge of the comforta,
hi