The Laundry 1137 



by the use of strong cleansing agents. The delicacy of the fiber makes 

 hard rubbing impossible, for it breaks the fibers and destroys not only 

 their durability but also their silkiness. In wringing silk, place 

 it between dry towels or heavy cloths and put it through a loosely adjusted 

 wringer. Iron it on the wrong side while still damp, with a moderately 

 hot iron. Silk is very easily scorched and, if the iron is too hot, the silk 

 will be stiff. Push the iron back and forth with a wriggling motion to 

 give softness and pliability to the silk. It is often best to iron silk under 

 a cloth; to do so gives less body and a softer finish. 



Ribbons, if of good quality, may be very successfully washed. To iron 

 them, cover them with a dry cloth and move the iron frequently back and 

 forth over the siirface of the cloth above them. 



Washing laces 



It is often best to dry-clean fine laces, as they thicken slightly in washing. 

 To wash them, use a warm neutral soap-solution to which has been added 

 ammonia or borax. Squeeze out the dirt by pressing the lace in the hands 

 but do not rub it; rubbing breaks the delicate threads. A good way to 

 wash fine lace is to baste it to strips of cheesecloth, being careful to catch 

 down all its points. Put it to soak over night in warm soapy water con- 

 taining a little borax or ammonia. Wash it, by squeezing, then rinse it 

 free of soap. Old yellow lace may be bleached by stretching it, while 

 wet, around a bottle, and standing it in the sun, rewetting the lace occa- 

 sionally. Javelle water may be used to bleach lace. Lace may be stiff- 

 ened by rinsing in a mixture of two tablespoons of alcohol to one cup of 

 water ; by rinsing in borax water, two tablespoons to a cup ; or by using 

 gum arable, one eighth teaspoon to a cup of water. If a yellow color is 

 desired, dip the lace in coffee or tea. 



Black lace should be cleaned by squeezing it repeatedly in a mixture 

 of one cup of strong coffee and one tablespoon of ammonia. Rinse in 

 gum arable water made with coffee? to give natural stiffness. 



Lace curtains should be washed with as near an approach to the care 

 given to lace as is practicable. Clear-starch them, stretch them, and pin 

 them out on sheets, one curtain over another. If available, it is 

 better to use curtain stretchers than sheets, but if care is taken to square 

 off the first curtain and stretch it straight and even, good results may be 

 obtained by pinning the curtains to sheets. 



BLEACHING 



In former times, dependence was placed on sunshine, fresh air, and a 

 green sward for bleaching all manufactured cottons and linens. Such 



