Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-18
LINENS REQUIRE CARE

I wonder IL there was ever house,
keeper who did not enjoy nice house,
hold linens, writes Christine Terhune
Herrick.
To me 1t makes no difference what
department of the home they furnish.
\, ] confess to a weakness for very dainty
/, table linen--flne tablecloths and nap
kins, plenty of pretty doilies and CEN
\ terpieces, and have fondness for an
abundance of good face towels. But
then / also have great interest in
sheets and pillow slips, especially when
they are OF linen-in attractive bed
spreads and bureau covers, and my
liking. for these details does not stop
there, for even dish towels and rollers
have q charm for me. I would find 1t
hard to believe there is any woman at
the head of a household who does not
share my feeling.
At the same time I wonder also how
good care the majority of women take
of their linen.
If you are a housekeeper constantly
on the alert for holes in the linen, yen
should make a business of inspecting
the contents of your linen shelves at
stated times. This will not be so fire.
quently necessary If you can give ten
minutes week to casual glance at
the linen actually In use. When you
are stripping the beds to change the
sheets look over these for possible
tears. Many q sheet has the hem or
selvage whipped into tatters on the
line, while the rest of the material Is
unbroken, and sometimes these acci-
dents have been overlooked by the
laundress and are only discovered
after the sheet is in use. Mend 1t over
before it goes into the wash again. for
the second time 1t will come out In
far worse condition.
Give the same attention to the soiled
table linen when you are collecting
this for the wash. Always bear in
mind that the mend should be made
before the article is laundered, If pos
sible. I don't know why washing and
ironing should enlarge the hole, unless
it widens by hanging blowing on the
line, but 1t is indisputable that a small
hole in any piece Of linen Is much more
serious after 1t has been washed and
ironed than before. Keep fine thread
for darning fine tablecloths and nap
kins, and take the trouble to make a
nice Job OF 1t.
While the life of linen may be much
prolonged by careful mending. there
comes a point where stitches and darn
ing are thrown away. When the linen
is worn so thin that the thread used
in repairing breaks away almost at
once. or at best after a single wash
ing, it is waste OF labor to go on with
the work. Then is the time to look
over the wornout pieces and see what
other possibility of usefulness they
possess.
Every/large piece Of linen Is likely
to give way In one place more than
in another. The tablecloth wears first
along the edge OF the table and in the
places which having been most soiled
have required most rubbing in the
wash. Often a cloth will be in holes
in some spots while other portions of
1t are comparatively good. Such un-
worn portions should be cut out with
care and convertedt into other useful
= -articles-naplxins or bibs for the chill
dren. large doilies In which to wrap
baked potatoes or warm bread for the
table cloths in which to boil fish or to
use for putting about salad when this
has been washed and picked over and
is to be put in the ice box until It Is
time to prepare it for the table. There
is no end to the service which can be
found for soft old linen.