SILK LORE

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12355, 27 January 1926, Page 11

SILK LORE

If silk is washed with soap, a few drops pf methylated spirit added to the rinsing water prevents the fabric having that washed-out appearance that is so common in silk that has been washed. To restore the whiteness of silk that has yellowed through careless washing or disuse, add a. teaspoonsful of cream of tartar to each pint of. washing Water. Ink stains can he removed from silk by simply drawing the affected part tightly across the mouth of a vessel, and pouring boiling water over it. To remove wine stains from silk, wet with cold water, then apply a mixture of table salt and lemon juice. _ Leave for an hour or so, then wash with cold water. The following is the best way- to wash silk. Pare and, grate one largesized potato into a quart of spring water. When ail the sediment has settled at the bottom, pour off the clear liquid into another _ vessel, and wash the silk—swirling it in the liquid for a minute or so. Hang the fabric up to drip, but do not wring it. Or it may be rolled in a towel until slightly damp, when it should be ironed on the right side to firßt impart a gloss. To remove rust stains from silk apply a mixture of four ounces of spirits of turpentine and one ounce of lemon juice. Let this remain for a minute or so, then wash off ’frith a sponge wetted frith cold water. Black silk is beat cleaned by gently dipping it up and. down in the water in which potatoes have been boiled. To remove scorch marks from silk, rub a little French chalk into the affected parts and leave till next day, when the chalk should be dusted off with a pad of soft cloth. The water in which rioe _ has been boiled is excellent for stiffening silk. A silk jumper sßould never be put through* a wringer. The best way to dry it is to squeeze it between the hands until most of the moisture has been extracted, then place upon a fiat suiface in a cool atmosphere, and let it remain until dry. Any kind of acid stain can be removed from silk by sponging the affected par® with water in which a few drops of ammonia have been added. One very important rule to be remembered in removing stains from silk is to rub with a circular movement, beginning just outside the stain and gradually working in to the centre.