The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1941-12-18
Homemakers' Column
Edited by Mildred Barton Hoffman,
Home Demonstration Agent,
Oakland, Maryland.
CONSERVING CLOTHING

with most everything we uSe-cloth-
ing, foods, home furnishings, equip
ment, etc Thinking in terms of cloth
ing, we might each well make the
following pledges:
81 will buy carefully"
81 will take good care of the
things l have"
81 will waste nothing"
These three coinside with the
fundamentals of wardrobe planning
When clothing purchases are well
planned and each garment bought
carefully, a wardrobe is bound to be
better assembled than when clothing
is purchased haphazardly, with no
thought to checking points of quality.
With many kinds of clothing and
textiles becoming limited because Of
the National Defense Program, there
is more need today than ever 10 buy
CLOTHES that live'-substantia mater
ials, classically simple lines, basic
colors When clothing must last longer
than usual, it's best to avoid novelties
that are doomed in a season or less.
First step in taking care of cloth
ing intelligently is knowing what the
fabric is made of Methods of clean
ing, pressing, removing spots, and
storing vary according to the fabrics
| in a garment.
1t will help also in taking in
telligent care of clothing if you know
whether the color in a material is
fast to light and to washing, whether
and how much the garment is likely
to shrink, and what special finishes,
if any, have been applied to the ma
terial. Best place to find out about
these points is at the store when you
are buying-from labels, clerks, and
store buyers.
Wash Wool Carefully
A wool garment needs to be
handled with especial care when it is
damp. Rough handling, harsh soap,
sudden extremes of temperature while
wool is wet cause the little scales on
the surface of the wool fibers to lock
into each other This locking or
"Felting" results in shrinkage-
makes wool "boardy" When wool
material becomes boardy, there's not
much that can be done to restore it.
If you try to stretch the garment
back to its original shape and size
after it has 'felted," the fibers break
into short pieces, which soon work
out and weaken the cloth.
The right way to wash wool is to
use warm, soft water and mild soap.
Squeeze suds through cloth-don't
rub. Dry in warm place, but not
near fire or in direct sunlight
Stretch knit garments into shape
while they are damp and lay them
out flat to dry Press other wool
garments while they are still damp
with a medium-hot iron and press
ing cloth.
Watch the Iron When You
Press RayOn
Some rayons are not washable at
all-have to be dry cleaned. For wash
/. able rayons, use heavy lukewarm suds
of neutral soaps. Do not rub. And
since some types of rayon are weaker
when they are wet. handle them with
particular care. Rinse in water the
same temperature as the wash water
to prevent shrinkage.
Dry on clothes hanger or roll in
Turkish towel. Use a moderately
warm iron. And for acetate rayons
keep the temperature of the iron even
lower It's a good idea to try the
temperature of the iron first on the
back part of hem or on a seam to
see if it is so hot it will melt the
fabric.
Rayons that are washed are likely
to give more trouble in fraying and
seam pulling than those that are dry
cleaned AS a guard against this, look
for wide seams with well-finished
edges. If a. garment doesn't have
these, go over the seams yourself
overcast or self-stitch the seam
edges. Self stitching is merely turn
ing the raw seam edge over once then
machine stitching it.
COttOns
The sensible way to clean most cot
tons is to wash them Colored cottons
need to be fast to washing and to
sunlight if they are to be satisfactory
for very long And Cottons should
not shrink more than percent in
order to- retain the fit of garment.
Look for definite facts about both
these points on labels or on the bolt
ends of yard goods.
If cottons are not labeled color fast
to washing, they'll probably need
special laundering attention. Not only
are they likely to fade, but if washed
in the same water with other clothes
they're likely to "bleed" onto other
garments. Handle -colorfast cot
tons as quickly as possible in the
laundry. Wash them in warm water
Never soak them. Dry them quickly.
| Textile experts say there's nothing
TO the old custom of soaking ma