Harper's Household Handbook: A guide to easy ways of doing woman's work

by Martha McCulloch-Williams

Pressing: Have a small board covered with flannel, then with muslin, for pressing. An alcohol stove for heating irons saves time and trouble. Keep it with the iron inside a handy box, upon which it can be set when lighted. Do not damp woolen things before pressing. Moisten silk very slightly, linen rather more, and cotton, as in linings, most of all. Press rounding seams, such as armholes and rolling collars, over the end of the board. Press sleeve seams with the small end of the board inside. Sew up and press outer sleeve seams before sewing inner ones. Do the same with very tiny trousers. Where pressing must be done on the right side cover with a thin cloth very slightly dampened.

Things Applied: Lace, insertion, motifs, and so on, need to be set on the cloth and sewed firmly in place, then to have the cloth cut out underneath. Turn cut edges back and stitch or sew again. Ribbon trimmings, unless gathered, are best put on by hand, with very long stitches on the wrong side, very short ones on top. Bands or borders applied as hems should be sewed on to the edge, turned over it, not flat with it, then basted down and stitched at the upper edges. Hold true in sewing on—a pucker or stretching ruins the fit. Miter corners very neatly, and stitch upon the wrong side. In putting in a fold or piping baste with the double edge even with the edge of the garment, or the band, then turn over and baste before stitching. Hold lace a little full on rounding edges so it shall not hoop nor draw.

Make fancy yokes, put on the collar, then arrange smoothly on the form, put over the bodice, fit together, and set a thick row of pins where they are to join. If the bodice edge is finished, pin together—if it is to be sewn in, leave it free. An overlapping yoke had better have the bodice cut almost full height, and the surplus cut away after the yoke is put on.

Making Over: Begin making over by refurbishing—cleaning, dyeing, pressing, turning. Rip, pick out stitches, take out spots, and brush.

Dyeing: Dyeing is easy. Use cotton or woolen dyes according to need. But first wash stuffs very clean. Discharge color by soaking several hours in suds, or cream-of-tartar solution, boiling half an hour in clear water, and dye while still hot. Have a roomy dye pot, drop into it all parts of a garment at once to make the new color uniform. Have the stuff loosely crumpled, stir down instantly with a clean wooden stick. Lift after a minute to air, stir down again, and finish according to directions. Each dye has its own special limitations. Knitted woolens, as sweaters, caps, and so on, must not be soaked nor boiled, only washed quickly, covered with clear hot water, let stand a minute, then squeezed out and put into the pot. Silk should not be washed unless very dirty; clean with gasolene instead, but wet with clear hot water before dyeing. If it loses body after washing, dip into stale beer or weak gum water (see section Renovators) or else stiffen with weak sugar water, and iron while damp. A black kid glove cut up and boiled in a gallon of water till reduced one-half makes a good stiffener for black silk, also for mixtures of silk and wool. This, whether they are dyed or merely washed. So does stale beer.

Tack lace to strips of cloth before dyeing and leave on them till washed and pressed. Dyed net had better be partly dried in crumpled heaps after washing, then stiffened and pressed.

Gasolene-cleaning: Take out spots (see section Spots), then plunge in a clean vessel, pour on gasolene to cover, wash quickly, laving rather than rubbing or wringing. Change to clean gasolene, wash again, then hang to air at least ten hours. This must be done away from fire or light. Press on the wrong side, and roll around a rod or mailing-tube instead of folding.

Washing Silk and Cloth: Tack, matching pieces together, right sides in, wash double in warm white soapsuds, rinse twice, keeping temperature even, and hang to dry without wringing. Take down when damp, and iron double, going first over one side, then the other. Stiffen by wiping over ahead of the iron with stale beer, glove liquor, or cold coffee or weak tea, for silk; with very thin starch or gum water for woolens. Roll after pressing. Iron cloth the way of the nap, not across it. Figured silk and brocade should be ironed on a soft board.

Freshening Lace: A bath in stale beer with draining afterward freshens rusty black lace, also stiffens it. It must be pressed when barely damp. Clean cream and light laces in gasolene, using a very little white soap if they are much soiled. Hang to air smooth—pressing hurts the look. Lying in powdered starch and magnesia for a week will often freshen laces. Mend them before cleaning (see section Making Whole). Shake free of powder—dust and grime will go with it—and smooth by laying back and forth between the leaves of a big book and putting on weight.

Trimmings: Clean ribbons, braids, galloons, and fringes in a bath of gasolene, changing at need, hang smooth to air, then press under weights, else roll inside a damp cloth for an hour, then press on the wrong side with a warm (not hot) iron. Wind braid about spools or tubes, and leave a day and night. Comb out fringes and wind around cardboard. In dyeing fringe fold compactly and sew inside a thin bag, then dye as usual. The bag prevents the fringe proper from matting.