The Washington times., 1905-08-16
HOWE. ITS PROBLEMS. AND INTERESTS
Clean LQceS at Home.

Cleaning laces has this season become
a necessary part of the work of almCSt
every well grOomed woman who reallzeS
the necessity of having her fTllS ana
ties SpOtleSsIy clean and fresh, and finds
II too expensive To send them 10 a regu-
lar cleaner. The work is really task.
FOR Iaces must be very carefully washed
or the fine mesheS Will be twisted out of
shape and torn. Nearly every woman
has her own way that she considers the
best method of doing it, and so recon-
mends il 10 her friends. The processes
used by professional cleaners, however,
might give a few helpful suggestions
that she could work in with her own
"It is really very simple to clean the
sheerest and finest kinds of laces. II
you understand how, says a woman
who has made it a practical business for
fifteen years, and who regularly cleans
laces for wealthy society women. 4 al
ter, after carefully soaping them with
white or CASTLE soap. Al the end OF
! twelve or fourteen hours / lift them
carefully from the first water and drop
them into lukewarm. in which L have
previously made the suds. With the
tips of my fingers | move the laces
gently up and down so that the soapy
water runs through the meshes and
carries out the dirt. AS soon as this
water looks dark / repeat the process
until with the last washing the lace
looks clean and the water is not discol-
ored.
"A clean cold water is used to rinse
them in, and if desired l dip the laces
through a blue water, that helps to
whiten those that have become yellow
| with age. If the laces are very old and
| look Hfeless / put them through a thin
| starch made from gum arabic and wa
| freshness of even new laees,
| Throughout the cleaning l do not
once rub the nets, for | believe no mat
/ ter how carefully washing and Wringin6
| are done, the threads in finely woven
| designs VIII be twisted out of shape.
| The next thing IS to d~y the laces,
and this is the only really difficult part
| of the cleansing. for to do it properly
every point in the pattern on the edges
as well as the designs through the lace
must be carefully pulled out with the
| thumb and fingers, and held in place by
pins. To hold tile lace securely, board
"a piece of strong pasteboard about the
! length and width of the lace to be dried
should be smoothly covered with a
| piece of clean white cloth. Over this
| the webbing Is gently stretched, pinn2ng
pinned in shape, 1t should be put in the
sun, where it Will dry and whiten as II
When moved from the drying board
the lace should be crisp and fresh look
ing. If it is not TO be used immediate
ly / would advise rolling and wrapping
carefully in blue tissue paper, which
| helps TO keep 1t white
| Occasionally laces look yellow after
! the washing, and to take out this unde-
! sirable dtscoloration rub them al
over with WhlLe soap aIIer putting
through the blue water. and lay them
fiat on white china plate in the sun,
In most cases / have found that this
treatment bleaches successfully. II II
does not the first time I repeat it until
they are Whitened.
one way TO clean black lace at home
after thoroughly brushing it with a soft
whisk to get out the loose dust. is to
dip IL through ordinary drinking tea IN
which a little melted white soap has
been poured. 1t is then rinsed through
clear tea and soaked in a tea prepara-
tion for several hours.
This last washing of tea is made from
one teaspoonful or gum ara bic, the
same amount of dry tea. TO which is
added a pint OF boiling water. After
these ingredients have been well cooked
over a slow fire into a kind of thin jelly
ii is strained through a cloth and is
ready for use.
The lace is dipped in and out of this
preparation for several minutes. an
: should then be put TO dry. stretching out
the edges and figures in the patterr
. with pins on a smooth backing WncT
: dry the lace should be perfectly clear
: and free from all spots and crisp like
/ new.