Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-05
HOUSE
HOLD
lINTS

In most houses the Christmas greens are
scheduled for retirement directly after
Twelfth Night, January 6. This because
they have reached the "rattly stage and
interfere with the general sweeping and
busting that follow after the festivities of
the holidays. and not because We emanci-
pated women of the twentieth century share
the superstitions of We ancient days, that
every green leaf left after Little Christ
mas would turn into a malevolent hobgob-
lin Microbes the only hobgoblins that
the up-t date housewife fears. and of these
she has a holy terror"
Perhaps there are among us, however,
some possessed of sentiment who may like
to follow the example of one of the old
English families. After holiday, birthday,
wedding or other decorations have served
their turn, they are burned in the CRATE
and the ashes carefully collected and laid
aside. When any member of the family
dies these ashes associated In memory with
the happy days the family have enjoyed
together are scattered over the casket as
the clergyman pronounceS the words Ash
eS to ashes.
The Festival of the Distaff.
On January comes the Festival of the
Distaff. or Old Christmas. as it is known
olden times women were supposed to re-
sumo their work that the holidays had in
terrupted. The long, quiet days after
Christmas though no longer spent in the
spinning of fax, are quite appropriately
ushered in with the Festival of the Dstaff,
for this is the season in which all method1-
cal housewives devote much time 10 thelr
linen closets.
A well-stocked linen closet is a joy to
every housekeeperian instinct that has
come down to US from the time when the
preparation of the linen chest was the most
engrossing occupation of marriageable
daughters, SpinSterS.
While the machine made fabrics of the
present day cannot compare in durability
with the homespun linens of our grand
mothers times, they are eXquisitely beauti-
full and attractive Over 800 patterns in
damask are now placed at the disposal OF
the shopper in the January linen sales,
very embarrassment of riches.
The sun-bleached linens come from Ire
land, the land of alternating sunshine and
showers where natures own bleaching is
used to Whiten the webs which when woven
have the dark natural hues of the flax.
From a few factories in Austria and Ger
many come silver-bleach linen, the threads
having been beached before weaving. This
comes for table linen and in crash, when
sells by the yard for kitchen use. Many
good housekeepers prefer this to any other
bleach, because it has not lost any or us
wearing properties from the use of chemi-
beaches out, if a little boraX is used in the
sudS and rinSing water.
Not So Many Round Tablecloths.
The round tablecoth which was intro
duced about twelve years ago and attained
great popularity, is not nearly so much
sought for this year. Housekeepers have
discovered that it Is much more difficult to
Iaunder smoothly than a square tablecloth,
while dropping corners even on round ia
BILE give a more graceful effect to the table
than does a circular cloth. 1t Is not gen
orally known that the high-grade cloths
were originally imported square, but were
afterward cut around to order. the pat
terms usually allowing this. While floral
designs are always popular, the most eX-
pensive weaves now coma in the empire,
Louis XIV. Louis XIV and Louis XVI, with
conventional and geometrical designs. Plain
satin damask without any pattern is also
in great demand for dinner and lunch
cloths but is decorated with lace and |
drawn-work designs done by hand. In
laces used with dinner cloths or in tea
trays the Italian filet is at present the
most popular though Byzantine, Burano
and crepon are also in high favor. The
Chinese hand embroidered grass linen GEN.
terpieces and doilies launder beautifully
and are most serviceable The embroidery !
on these is very lustrous and rich looking
They come in the delft blues and white,
in floral designs and in the dragon design |
Embroidering Table Linen.
All household linen in homes of wealth.
or where the housewife is expert with the
needle. is marked with embroidered mono
grams or initials preference being given
to the English open-work embroidery or the
French seeded. At present tablecloths are
marked with two monograms. one at either
end or diagonally at opposite corners. |
Where the napkins shall be marked is a
matter of individual preference, dependent
hi oh tt,n ,nl-f iS n
be folded. The most common way is to
mark them diagonally in the center of the
last square when the napkin is folded |
For napkins the size of the letters Is usually
one or one and a quarter of an inch. For |
tablecloths they are from three to eight |
inches in diameter.
The Latest in Towels.
While few old-fashioned folk cling to
the damask towel, the great majority de-
mand the buck, leached by natural pro-
cesses out of doors. Many of these come |
in damask figures and fancy weaves, such |
as the fieur-de-lis or chrysanthemum woven !
in. Fringed towels are thing of the |
past The hemstitched borders are at |
tractive but not durable for everyday US I
age hem and body being too apt to part |
company in the laundering process. There !
Is a demand for hand embroidery in tow |
els, even for everyday use, but the plain |
hem answers for most people. The mark |
ing for towels should be- clear and distinct. !
If single letter is used 1t should be about !
two inches in size. While family pieces are |
better embroidered in white. individual |
towels for different members of the fam |
lily can be more quickly assorted after the |
wash IL each individual has his own color. |
The mother of two boys who are often |
off on camping and yachting trips, where |
they carry their own towels, has one set of !
towels marked in blue and the other in |
red so that 1t takes but moment to |
separate them.
For those who do not like huckaback |
for face towels, small lengths OF diaper |
linen buttonholed on the ends makes a |
good face cloth.
Wash Cloths and Mitts.
While many still cling to wash cloths |
of a stiff quality of linen that creates
friction or those made of a soft quality !
of Turkish toweling, bath mitts that fit over
the hands like wooden mitts very popu |
rL