Evening star., 1942-07-17

!. several times when it is washed, you
will have TO dye your material first,
1t should be washed in soap and
water to remove the sizing and then
dried. After that it should be dyed
In dye bath by the boiling method
so that it will be uniform and fast in
color. However. this amount of ma
terial is going to be very difficult to
handle and unless you feel that you
Just cannot use the natural un-
bleached color, ! would suggest that
you do not attempt the dye bath but
use colorful moss fringe or cording
for color and enjoy the practically
of the unbleached muslin. Un-
bleached sheeSing in the 60-inch
width will cut to best advantage and
should be purchased in a medium
heavy quality. Be sure 10 shrink the
material before it is made up.
Dear Miss NOVEL;: I have large
old gilt mirror frame which is soiled.
but beautifully carved and of real
gold leaf l have an old fashioned
house which would be good back
ground for this. but as / could
never use mirror that big am
wondering if there is any other use
for this possession which must have
cost a great deal at one time. 1t is
about so inches wide. the frame s
inches deep, and feet long. F.
Answer-This really is liability,
but it can be put to very good use.
| You might have it cut in half, max
ing it SO by 36 inches which is good
proportion, and make pair of
mirrors to be used above console
table at either end of a long room,
The fact that they were set flush
With the top of the table would make
It unnecessary to finish the frames at
the base and just small molding
could be used. Or, they would make
delightful headboards for a pair of
twin beds. They would be just the
right size, and if painted white, with
the gilt showing through where the
paint was rubbed off, they would
make charming additions to your
home, finer than almost anything
that you could buy these days.
Dear Miss Nowell-Can you tell
me what was used on the soft pine
farmhouse floors which used to be
scrubbed each day and looked
bleached and white? They never
had the oily look Of our natural
wood floors of today. I remember
how they looked and how clean they
smelled, and I would like to keep
the same kind Of floor in my sum-
mer kitchen at our camp. CIV.
Answer-ThiS was accomplished
with a combination of strong lye
soap, hot water and plenty of hard
work on hands and knees with a
scrub brush dipped in sand. The
floors beauty depended on it's being
clean always, as the bleached soft
surface absorbed every footprint or
spot just like a blotter. Heavy duty
soap cleaner in your hot water
would take the place of the lye
give you that sweet smelling,
scrubbed look you remember so well.
Dear. Miss Novel; pieces
of upholstered furniture of mine
have been in storage for three years
and have just been delivered. 1t
seems to have gummy substance
all over the wood part, which the
storage people tell me is just dirt,
81 n iy, \, l.
very grubby What could I do to
freshen these up? I do not feel that
I can have them refinished and re-
upholstered at this time. &c.
Answer-The wax and oil which
you would ordinarily use to keep
your furniture shining at home
would in three years collect a resi-
due of dust that might have
gummy appearance. Suggest you
wash the furniture in warm water
in which you put two tablespoons
of turpentine, scrub it thoroughly
with a sponge or soft cloth and wipe
it dry Immediately Then go over
all the wood part with clean
cloth saturated with lemon oil and,
when this has partly absorbed, pol
ish with a clean, dry cloth. I think
you will be happy with the results.
There are several excellent uphol-
stery cleaners which you may buy
in departments stores to freshen
the coverings and brighten up the
color again. A few months of good
care will remove most of the traces
of dead" storage.