Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-05-12
MUSLIN CURTAINS.

In the first place, instead OF having
my long skirt board on the table close tC
the wall, | placed the board little
distance in front of the window, with
one end on the table and the other or
some boxes piled in chair, and adjust,
ed the ends with boards and boxes unit
it was firm and as long as possible, and
the height was one at which | could
work easily without STOPPING. Then an
old busting sheet was spread on the
floor, and the window-sills given a fresh
busting, lest some stray spot of SCOT
should be blown on my work. The cur
tains had been dampened thoroughly
some time before, and when the irons
were ready, l began, first providing a
pan of water and a bit of clean cloth, in
case of need of redampening. The TOP
hem of the curtain was laid on the board
with the bottom hanging over the front
of the board, and there was ample space
between the chairs and table for the cur.
tain to hang it's full width, and ample
space back of the board for the freshly
ironed part to hang over and drop on
the sheet, away from my feet or any
thing that would muss it.
Keeping in mind what | call the cardi'
nal principle, to iron the way of the
warp and keep the warp straight, l care.
fully smoOthed the curtain so it would
lie straight, and, beginning at the right
side, ironed from the bottom or front OF
the board toward the top, going up with
more force or pressure than in the down
ward stroke. When l reached the Other
edge, where the rutfle was inserted be-
tween the hem, simply ironed the hem
and bore down quite hard to dry thor,
oughly the edge containing the gathers.
Then the ironed part was lifted up and
moved over toward the back and allow
ed to hang down, the fresh surface
smoothed into line, and the ironing re-
peated, and so on, until the lower hem
was reached, care being taken, of course,
that the threads were not allowed to be-
come askew between each removal of the
curtain, and that the side hem was kept
straight. | had not taken many strokes
with my iron before my old skill came
back to me, and | saw it was quite
possible to iron it straight if / kept my
mind on what / was trying to do; but
few careless strokes or shoves of the
iron from right to left instead of always
from me would have stretched the warp
apart and given just the wavy appearance
with which / had become so familiar,
and was trying to avoid.
After considerable pressure on the
lower hem to make it quite dry, it SEEM
ed to me that the rutfle was just where l
thought it would be, in the most natural
place to begin on it, and | was also graft
fled to find it had not become too dry.
BY placing the iron on the extreme right
edge or end of the ruffle and holding it
down, while with the left hand pulled
the ruffie slightly toward the left, l
found | could work the point of the iron
up into the gathers, and then without
lifting up the iron straighten out another
portion, perhaps six or eight inches, all
the while keeping the main part of the
ruffle straight instead of rounding it over
the edge of the board, and dropping
the iron and taking both hands for each
Strengthening of the lower edge of the
ruffle, as my laundress had done. And
SO kept on until came to the corner;
then, by simply turning the curtain
along, letting it drop as it would back OF
the board, went quickly over the rutfle
on the long side, and not until near the
end did it need any dampening. was
forty minutes doing the first curtain,
and only twenty-five doing the second
the edges were straight and the curtain
was not musSed.
1t is not natural for some minds to
take the straight line, which is always
the shortest possible distance between
two points, about their work, and so
plan it that they go over the ground but
once; and some will never learn it with
any amount of teaching.
it is from lack of knowledge of many
of the details of good work on the part
of many of the employees in our public
laundries, and lack of care and oversight
on the part of the forewOman or manag-
ers, that so much of the work is unsatis-
factory.
Until more Thoroughly trained workers
are employed, and more respect for
other PERSONS property is developed, so
that one may be certain her goods will
be returned without any extra stains and
unnecessary rents, housekeepers will be
slow to send all of their work outside
the home.
Launderies where everything is done
by hand, and in first-class manner, bet
ter even than it could be done in the
home, generally charge 80 much for their
work that but few housekeepers can at
ford to give them their patronage
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