The Colfax gazette. [volume] (Colfax, Wash.) 1893-1932, 1901-07-26
LACE CLEANING.
Plain Descriptions of Several Prac-
teal Processes.

Lace is now so profusely used that
| the woman who understands the art of
its renovation is fortunate. Modern
| Priscilla reveals some of the cleansing
| processes adapted to this delicate fab
| ric, as follows:
To wash lace successfully plenty of
| time and great care are necessary.
| There are instances where hurried
work is followed by success, but the
chances are against it, A battenberg
dolly became SOiled in the making so
| the maker rubbed white soap on it,
| thrust it in a basin of hot water and
rubbed it vigorously between her
| hands until all trace of soil was gone
| She then pulled it out into shape,
| placed it between two towels and roll
| ed it up. When nearly dry, she irOned
| it. still between the towels, and
| strange to say, that dolly showed no
| bad results from its rough treatment
But such a case is rare and is also
unfortunate, as it may lead to careless
ness in accomplishing a work that
| should receive the most careful treat
ment. Should all that is necessary to
clean piece of lace is to lay it be-
tween two sheets of white or blue pa
per, first sprinkling 1t we'll with DOW
dered magnesia. Then place it be-
tween the leaves Of book and allow it
to remain for several days When the
| magnesia is shaken out, the lace will
be found to be very greatly improved
Lace placed between sheets Of blue pa
per will keep white longer than when
placed between white paper or laid
away in a box
When actual washing is necessary,
take a glass whose body is as nearly
| cylindrical as possible Half fill this
with sand or water to prevent the wa
ter when boiling from tossing the bot
tie about too violently in the kettle
| Very carefully wind the lace around
| this bottle and cover it with layer Of
| cheeSeclOth or muslin. A still better
| way is to haste the lace smoothly and
exactly on a piece of cheeSeclOth, then
| wind it securely around the bottle and
cover the whole with another layer of
| the cheeSeclOth.
| Into a granite saucepan put some
cold water, small piece of white soap
and if the lace is very dirty pinch of
salt. Into this plunge the lace wound
| bottle and let the water come to a boil
AS the water gets dirty pour it off and
| replace with more cold water and soap
| Continue this treatment until the boil
| nIoa
| Then remove the bottle and plunge into
a basin Of clean, cold water and rinse
| thoroughly. Allow the lace to remain
on the bottle until it is dry, then re-
move it and separate from the cheese
| cloth
When real lace has become stained or
| greasy from wear. place it in a bath of
pure olive oil and allow it to remain
for several hours or even d day or two
This gives to the lace the SOftnesS of
texture it possessed when new. After
this is accomplished wind the lace on
the bottle and proceed with the boiling,
as already described.
When the lace is too large to wind
around a bottle, haste it evenly and Sc
curely to a piece of cheeseclOth, with
small stitches in parallel lines across
the surface Of the lace. Basic another
piece of cheesecloth over it and boil in
a series of waters. After the rinsing,
which must be accomplished by press
Ing and squeezing, but never by wiring
ing, pin the cloth upon which the lace
is basted smoothly to a sheet stretched
in curtain frames or if this is impossi-
bic to a sheet stretched and pinned
over a carpet. Allow the lace to dry
and then remove from the sheet and
from the two layers of cheesecloth.