flow long Do 



Your Stockings 



Wear? 



By IVIell Flatt Goodman, 

 Home Bureau Editor 



V \ 4 —HEN Illinois Home Bureau 

 ^.y 1/ women make out their 

 (f Christmas wants this year, 

 just 'any kind' of silk stockings won't 

 be listed. Certain brands, certain 

 lengths, certain threads and gauge will 

 have to be considered. That is, if 

 you want to make the perfect gift. 



The reason for this is that during 

 the summer, Home Bureau women have 

 been keeping records of their hosiery. 

 Record sheets were mailed out to 28 

 counties. In October 3 counties had 

 special lessons on wear and care of 

 silk stockings. 



"Give us stockings that will wear 

 longer, cost less, and look better," said 

 Mrs. Raymond Norton, Champaign 

 county, "and we will save enough 

 money to put running water in the 

 house and sinks in our kitchen. Any 

 ■woman knows she must have good 

 looking hosiery whether she has a sink 

 or not, so we must demand better 

 values in stockings." 



Too Many Runs 



For women of today, not only in 

 Home Bureau, but women's clubs. 

 League of Women Voters, housewives, 

 business women, are protesting vigor- 

 ously about stocking expense. To buy 

 a pair Saturday night and have a run 

 start Monday morning seems a waste 

 of time as well as money. What's to 

 be done? 



"By keeping account of the actual 

 hours of wear, from your own ex- 

 perience, find the size and kind best 

 suited for your individual needs, then 

 take care of them," Miss Edna Gray, 

 extension specialist counsels. "Stock- 

 ings that are right for short Mary 

 Jones may not be right at all for tall 

 Ethel Smith. If you know the right 

 length, size and thread for your use, 

 you may expect better service from 

 your hose." 



Here are reports on actual findings. 

 Mrs. Howard Ward, Dewey, reported 

 295 hours for a seven thread hose. 

 Mrs. Glen Gordan found two pair of 

 hose gave out, that is started runs, 

 within 24 hours. Two pair worn al- 

 ternately, thus providing a rest for the 

 silk, seemed to wear better than one 

 worn through to the finish. Three pair 



DECEMBEB, 1939 



MISS lUANITA GRIEVE 

 '1 aort oi like machinerr too.' 



bought at one time lasted longer than 

 four pair bought two at a time. 



One pair of four thread wore 95 

 hours. If you were a business person, 

 counting 10 hours a day, that would 

 amount to nine and one-half days. 

 With the cost at 85c, plus sales tax, 

 87c, the stocking wear would amount 

 to nine and one-tenth cents plus daily. 

 For budget makers then, three dollars 

 a month would not allow much leeway 

 for accidental snagging or any dress- 

 up hose. 



Stockings made of coal, water and 

 air, may be the solution if silk becomes 

 too scarce due to the wir. Although 

 these may be slightly higher in price 

 at the present time, this may be dis- 

 counted if they prove to. wear longer. 

 The contention is too, that they will 

 be more impervious to snags. 

 Manufacturer to Blame? 



Anxious to learn as much as possible 

 in their hosiery study, three women 

 from Champaign county, Mrs. Warren 

 Young, Mrs. Harold Bruder, Mrs. 

 Russell Knox pilgrimaged to and 

 through a hosiery factory in Indian- 

 apolis. There they were shown the 

 steps from the silkworm spinning his 

 cocoon through the weaving, shap- 

 ing, boxing and mailing of hosiery. 

 Don't blame the manufacturer, the 

 women were warned, if you snag your 

 hose on a weed stump in the garden. 

 Sheer hose are not meant for garden- 

 ing or golfing. Four thread for hard 

 wear, three thread for ordinary service 

 and two thread for dressup or evening 

 seemed to be a fair conclusion from the 

 tests. 



She Manages 

 The Atwood 

 Creamery ^ 



C\ -ISS JUANITA GRIEVE. 

 ^^^:\^ member of the Piatt County 

 C^^ Yl Home Bureau, is manager 

 or the Atwood Creamery. Pretty and 

 competent, she knows plenty about bot- 

 tling milk, churning butter and making 

 cheese, but she is also interested in in- 

 terior decoration and values the help 

 she gets from the Home Bureau in 

 beautifying the kitchen with an ivoiy 

 and green color scheme. 



Miss Grieve supervises five employees, 

 keeps the cash journals of the creamery, 

 figures the route men and directs packag- 

 ing and wrapping of the creamery prod- 

 ucts. 



Bottled milk and other dairy products 

 are supplied to the town of 750 people, 

 and butter is sold in the surrounding 

 territory. Miss Grieve has served as 

 bookkeeper of the plant since 1932. 

 The organization is small and each work- 

 er knows his job and is ready to help the 

 other fellow when there is extra work to 

 do. She does not think it queer for a 

 woman to serve as manager. 



"Why not, " she asks. "They know 

 I have had experience with the book- 

 keeping. I have helped with the milk 

 work, and really, I sort of like machinery 

 too. All the mechanical part, however, 

 is turned over to competent help, but 

 that could be true if a man were man- 

 ager." 



Hose cannot give good service if 

 they are too short or too long in either 

 the feet or the leg, was one principle 

 emphasized at the factory and by Miss 

 Gray. If your stocking wears at the 

 heel, it may be the shoe and not the 

 stocking that is at fault. Stockings 

 washed immediately after wearing wear 

 longer than when allowed to stand 

 before laundering. Mild soap in solu- 

 tion should always be used. Wet silk 

 stockings are better not hung pinned 

 on a line in the wind. Also, never 

 dry over the radiator. Harsh dry air 

 tends to dry the silk making it break 

 easier. 



If you are dissatisfied with your 

 stocking service, for suggestions you 

 may write to Mrs. George Hawker, 

 chairman Illinois Home Bureau Fed- 

 eration, or Miss Edna R. Gray, Cloth- 

 ing Specialist, University of Illinois. 

 They will be glad to send record 

 sheets. 



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