WASHING THE FLANNEL BLOUSE

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 235, 27 June 1908, Page 11

WASHING THE FLANNEL BLOUSE

Tho "Argus" gives tho following sugges- " tions for washing flannel blouses Flannel ?" washing is one of tho tests of a laundress's 13 capabilities, for though it is a, separate r ' branch of tho art, it is too often treated in a haphazard way. Most of us at one time or another liavo had woollen garments re)r turned from tho wash cither a few inches 2r wido and twice their normal length, or

twice their wearable wicfth and half their. proper length. This sort of thing happens more frequently with flannel blouses than with other woollens, because in many households there is an extraordinary idea that Mousing flannel is not tho same as other flannel, and so garments made 'of it are often soaked with the white

wear, and soda and boiling water aro used as a "matter of course. Such methods, had enough, with white flannel, are perfectly disastrous with coloured materials. Delay is ■ fatal in washing anything woollen, and all ~ tho necessary preparations, such as prepar- 0 ing tho lather and placing , the ammonia a within easy roach, should be made before s plunging tho blouse into water. Ammonia a is requisite for wliito '©.unci only, and colours and printed patterns need that a table- f ; 'spoonful of vinegar bo added to the first ' lather, in order to set tho colours and pre- t vent fading. No soap should ever be rubbed i on flannel of any sort, and a lather made f from 2oz. of soap boiled in a quart of water, j and allowed to_ stand until it is merely warm, i is tho correct' washing medium. The final j rinsing should be in tepid wator, and then 1 the blouses should bo hung in tho wind and j sun, though too much of tho latter is bad. ■, Flannels aro all tho better for being dried 1 quickly, and they require ironing with hot i irons, but it should bo remembered that ] woollen goods scorch with less heat than cotton. i