The Washington times., 1907-11-03

| you may have to lend a hand 20 the
/ task by a series OF careful shakes when
yOI are ready TO iron the curtains. Lay
| each on the ironing sheet, spread thin
| dampened cheeseclOth tlignt in weight
and sheer over IT, and iron on the
wrong side. pressing hard upon tue fig-
ures 70 bring them into clear relief on
the right.
The damp -four supplies the slight
/ stiffness desirable to keep the curtains
smooth. II is well known TO everybody
tnat a touch Of starch will prevent thin
stuffs and linen from soiling so soon as
they would II limp.
To starch our curtains stidy would
! hinder them from hanging in soft large
folds, and make them Brittle.
To Wash Lace in the Old Way.
Our foremothers set apart a special
day for the ceremony Of Iace-washing.
ard did up yards upon yards Of the
| figured cobWebs that were accounted
riches as truly as gold and lands.
The laces were put 10 soak overnight
4 fl warm water.
Next morning they were washed in
tepid suds made Of ripe old SOAP so
bland that there was no risk Of drastic
alkaH eating into the c0bwebs.
They washed with their own fingers.
tenderly, buz getting ouc all the dirt
and passing through never less than
three rinsing waters.
They kept a store OF Ng-bodied bot
ties for the next and most delicate
stage Of the operation Tail bottles as
well as big of giTth. were in demand
One woman whose laccs stood next to
her flesh and blood IN her matronly af-
Iecticns, Went 10 the pains and expense
CT denuding two large denll0hns OF
taeir castings and used them for her
lace cleaning.
They were kept under iock and key
when not in use.
The bottles were wound with strips
~ n IN.
Striu Of lace vas pulled into share
while wet. and still damp. and was bast-
ed round and round Ike a winding stair
case upon the liuen-swataed bottle.
1 say 'basJed'' because tie term ap-
plies 10 stitches set for 2 Temporary
purpose But the- work done with q
fine needle and No. so cotton, was a
work Of art.
Every point and scaIlop had a stitch
OF its own, and the seivaged opposite
line was laid il place by thread
When the last stitch was set the bot
tie was dipped into pure, soft water
set IN the window where the sun lay
longest and hottest and left there all
day.
once in every hour the bottle was
moistened and turned 10 let the other
side get the benefit Of the sun and air.
The lace was thus not quite dry when
II was taken Cff at evening. Each
stitch was clipped with a pair of keen
scissors. To pull. on a thread would
The liberated web was laid lightly.
not TO strain il out of shape. on the
ironing board and pressed with a hot
iron over several folds OF flannel and
through a cambria pocket handkerchief.
Finally II was folded in lengths suCn
as it had when It was bought. and laid
away in a box with a close lid.
IF there be . better way OF doing up
lace edgings and insertions than that
pracdced IN a time so distant that va
think Of Fl a e fvx-flfght-I2nd 7 have n aver
found II.
I still wind my narrower Valenciennes,
thread. point. duchess, and maline laces
on a big-bodied bottle and set it in the
southern window on a sunny day. and
they last me well and long.
To Clean Dry Lsce
Dry-cleansing is a product of the latest
years of the nineteenth century-one OF
the countless abOT-ma1e-easy devices
we are inventing as time grows scarce
and ''hired help dearer.
Prepare the hot salted -four as di-
rected while ago, regulating the guam
tlty by the number of pieces you have to
clean. Half I'll a heated pan with the
hot mixture, put in your lace, and go
through the motions Of washing. as with
suds.
Work carefully to avoid unnecessary
friction, but rub every part Of the lace
between your fingers as If YOU were
soaping 1t and then working the soap
into the soiled lace.
Having gone over 1t twice in this man
ner, shake out the loose flour, cover with
fresh supply SO generous that the
4 lace IS buried out OF sight, and set
away for q day.
You may have to repeat the process
on the morrow If the lace be sadly
soiled When it is as you would have
il, cover with an Old fine handkerchief.
evenly damped, and iron
1t viii look almost as nice as when
new.
To Clean Cream -COlored or Ecru Laces.
The visitor to the world-famed Vene-
tan lace factories has a new and not
altogether. pleasant sensation when in
reply 10 his demand for antique lace, he
Is informed, unblushingly, by the obse-
quious salesman that ANY design Sc
leeted by the signOr may be made an
tique in a few hours
knowing what a poor sham the "an-
tique' is. we cling to the notion that
dignity, If not value. Is attached to vel
lowed lace. The foremothers we were
talking of just now esteemed the iaun-
~lcs GnSe Of laces as old as themselves