Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-05-12
The Way of the Warp.

Straight lines are no longer in vogue
in many of the places where we have for
years been accustomed to see them. We
no longer arrange our chairs in lines with
the wall, and our pictures are not hung
on level with the eye. Our long lines
of bookshelves are varied by cabinets,
drawers, and shelves of varying height.
And this desire to depart from the
straight lines must have permeated even
our laundries, Judging from the uneven,
wavy edges of much of their so-called
flat-work which they return to us.
Cotton and linen goods for household
purposes are still woven with straight
threads for the warp, and straight
threads for the wool, and however much
they may deviate from their straight and
narrow paths in the final dressing or siz-
ing before they leave the mill, they will
return to it quickly after the first washs
ing. And it is just as easy to keep them
in these straight lines, if one only knows
how, and will do it, as it is to stretch
and pull them in another direction.
The way of the warp, or the long way
of the cloth, offers more resistance than
the way of the wool, or the width. We
make use of this fact in our sewing by
always using the cloth so the weight will
come on the warp instead of the wool,
and in a binding we always cut it the
lengthwise or selvage edge, so it will
stretch less than if cut widthwise.
A sheet or tablecloth hung on the line
with the selvage at the bottom, and espe-
cially if drawn tightly, will stretch in
the middle more than on the selvage,
and the clothespins will often twist the
grain of the hem all out of shape. They
should be hung with the hens down,
and be fulled slightly on the line to pre-
vent the stretching in the middle. Tow
els, napkins, and pillow-slips should be
hung in the same way, hens down.
But to 60 back little. Before hang
ing them, there is an important part of
the work to do, because it is a preventive
of more work later, and that is, the
wringing of the cloth. Instead of put
ting such articles through the wringer
by the corner, or any edge that happens
to be most handy, keep this rule in
mind, from start to finish, "the way of
the warp"
Lift the articles from the water length
wise rather than widthwise. Many a
piece of old material is torn in careless
handling just from lack of this precau-
ton. Take the ends, not the sides, in
! the hands, and lift the piece up and
down in the water until thoroughly
rinsed, then put the end through the
wringer evenly, and before hanging them
on the line, take each piece by the end
and shake it well. This will pay in the
ironing end of the work. Doubtless
more than half of the labor of ironing
might be dispensed with, if one would
remember that proper wringing, shaking,
and hanging and particularly careful
handling and folding when taken from
the line is, or should be, a part of the
smoothing or ironing process.
When / lived in the suburbs and had
the time to do my washing, | learned
many a valuable lesson in this line of
work, and often felt that half my iron
ing was done if l could let my washing
hang on the line until the late afternoon
or until the dew dampened the clothes
slightly so they required no sprinkling,
and then fold each piece, especially fiat
pieces, and carefully lay them in the
basket instead of tumbling them in
helter-skelter. The air and the sun take
out most of the wrinkles left after the
wringing and shaking, and why put more
in by careless handling, except when
freezing weather, or sudden shower,
renders haste necessary. If all things OF
kind are kept together, and especially
on the line, it simplifies the work great