Here's your Answer

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 43, 13 May 1927, Page 4

Here's your Answer

Let THE SUN Service Bureau assist you with your problems, whether they relate to dress, health, and beauty culture, cooking, homecraft, travel, sport, or any of the many other things on which we are all constantly seeking information. Whatever your particular puzzle may be, we will be glad to give our advice whenever possible. All communications must be accompanied by the inquirer’s name and address (not for publication) and sent to THE SUN Service Bureau, Women’s Page, THE SUN, Auckland. Answers will appear each Friday in this column. A “DIFFERENT” DISH “Mrs. M.” —Make an open tart as follows: Four ounces cornflour, 4oz. flour, 3oz. butter, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 eggs. Rub butter into dry ingredients, add beaten yolks of eggs, make into paste and roll out. Line a tart-plate and fill with following mixture: To two cups stewed apples (dried apples will do) add a handful of raisins and a heaped teaspoon of powdered cinnamon, mix well and spread on tart. Beat whites of two eggs until stiff, add a tablespoon of sugar, pile roughly on apple mixture and bake until lightly browned. Serve hot or cold with cream. FOR CLEANING IVORY “E.H.” —A paste consisting of talcpowder moistened with benzine will clean ivory toilet accessories. Apply with a piece of clean flannel and rub the marks gently until they disappear. Then wash the ivory with milk and water and polish with a soft dry cloth. DYEING SHOES “Reader.”—The only thing you can do is to obtain a bottle of the dyes that are sold for the purpose at most shoe stores, and paint over the lemon satin shoes. Give them a good coat and set them aside to dry. Then, if the light shade still shows through paint them again. * * * KNITTING SOCKS “Constant Reader” wishes to know how to turn the heel of a sock with 60 stitches in it, 20 being on each needle. Can any reader supply a pattern? WASHING GLOVES “Marie.” —To clean silk or fabric gloves, put them on, fasten them and wash as if washing the hands, using any good soap (pay particular attention to the finger-tips). Then rinse and rinse, and rinse again—it is in rinsing that streakiness occurs if care is not taken. Next, still wearing them, dab and squeeze the gloves gently with a soft towel, keeping on till they are almost completely dry. Do not skin them off inside-out, but pull off carefully by each finger-tip—the stretching is necessary. Do not iron fabric gloves; safetypin them to the line to finish drying. Iron the silk ones, as it makes them glossy; but be careful not to iron the press-studs, or they will be rendered useless. REVIVING FADED RUGS “A.C.”—Faded carpets and rugs can be freshened by sponging with a mixture of one part ox-gall to two parts water, or with strong salt water or water containing about one teaspoon of ammonia to the quart (too strong a solution of ammonia may alter certain colours, in which case the original colour may be restored by sponging with equal quantities of vinegar and water). Still another method is to go over the surface with a broom dipped in warm water containing a little spirits of turpentine. A PIMPLE REMEDY “H.L.”—Put a tablespoon of lime into a pint bottle of cold water and allow it to stand a day or two (do not shake). Take half a cup of the clear liquid in a cup of water morning and night. It is very bitter, but it is a most effective skin cleaner and banisher of pimples. It is also a good aperient. KEEPING FISH “I.D.A.” —Fresh fish can be kept quite good for several days if treated in this way: Put 15 quarts of water and 5 pint of vinegar into a pan and bring it to the boil. When quite boiling, put the fish in and scald for two minutes by the clock. Drain thoroughly and hang in a cool place until required. * * * NO NEED Do you consider constantly powdering and rouging injurious to the skin? Some of the girls in the office spend half their time titivating. I always think it looks so out of place in business.—“ Regular Reader.” If you mean powdering over a grubby face, the skin will surely suffer in time. Besides, there is no reason why complexions should have to be First sign of influenza, take Lancer Influenza Cure “Lancer” nips it in the bud and routs the worst attack Price 2s. 5

I “repaired” in office hours in these days of permanent cosmetics. WHAT SHOULD SHE WEAR? I am writing to ask your advice about the colour and style of dress I should wear. I am rather plump and not very tall. I have dark brown hair, grey eyes, rosy cheeks, and I wear pince-nez. I am 18, but people always think I am about 21.—“R.K.” Pale colours always make the plump look plumper, and any lines going round the figure have the same effect. Choose navy blue, bottle green, deep mauves, and wine reds for day wear. Dark brown should also suit you quite well, but the blues and mauves would be most becoming to your grey eyes. DISCOLOURED TEETH I am most careful to brush my teeth after each meal, and again last thing at night, but instead of being white, my teeth always have a nasty yellow tinge. I thought perhaps you would know of a good bleach.—“ Betty.” Peroxide should solve your problem. Gargle the mouth out with a little weak peroxide, and then sprinkle a few drops of the (undiluted this time) bleach on a moist tooth brush, and brush the teeth vigorously for a few minutes. Once or twice a week should be often enough for this treatment. I should be inclined to use a charcoal tooth powder for a little while if I were you. Charcoal actually absorbs stains. RENOVATING BROCADE SHOES I have a pair of expensive brocade dance shoes, which were new only last year, but when I looked them out for this season, I discovered how shabby they were. A friend told me to gild them over. Is there any other way to make them look nearly new?—“M.O.” It would be a good plan to dye the surface of the shoes, first cleaning them very thoroughly with petrol. Be careful not to wet the soles of the shoes or the leather will stain the silk. Apart from this, it is an easy, straightforward job. You will need some pieces of flannel, a soft brush and a clean cloth. Brush out any dust, wet the top of the shoes with a piece of flannel soaked in the petrol, and brush the shoes all over with a soft brush dipped in petrol until they are quite clean. Wipe with another flannel. Repeat the whole process, using fresh petrol. When quite clean, wipe the shoes dry with a clean cloth, doing this as carefully as possible, as it is the best way of removing the dirt. Quite possibly, you will not find it necessary to dye the shoes at all, after cleaning them so thoroughly, but if you do decide to dye them, test the effect of the dye first on a piece of ribbon the same shade as the shoes. It will only be surface dyeing, I’m afraid, as the shoes cannot be put in the water. Rub the colour into the shoes with a very soft rag and see that it soaks the brocade sufficiently. Wipe with a cloth to make it quite smooth. RAIN SPOTS I am wondering if you could tell me what would remove marks made by the rain on a black plush velvet hat? I tried to knock the rain-spots off lightly with a handkerchief when it was wet, but they would not come off, and when it was dry, I brushed it well, but without success.—“T.H.” Steaming should be sufficient. Pass th,e hat in front of a steaming kettle, but do not let it get saturated. Afterwards dry fairly quickly in front of the fire and brush the way of the nap. Do this twice, if necessary. If the spots still show, rub them very gently against the pile with one teaspoonful of spirits of wine and one tablespoonful oxgall dissolved in half a pint of warm water. Afterwards steam the hat again to raise the pile. A BROWN SILK CROSS-OVER FROCK Can you give me any suggestion for bringing a brown silk dress up to date? It is made at present with a short-waisted cross-over front. Is there any way to lengthen the top part as cross-over dresses are being worn so much now, only, of course, long waisted? The skirt part is too long - 0.M.R.” You could alter your brown silk frock in two ways. You could drop the bodice from the shoulders with little yoke-pieces, putting a straight yoke across the back. These are considered very smart just now, and it wouldn t matter at all about the seams showing. Or. if you don’t like this idea, you could lengthen the bodice at the bottom with a peice cut from the skirt, disguising the seam with a band of coloured embroidery. The same embroidery might run up the sleeves to the elbow, and could be introduced in vertical linss of different lengths from the hem of the skirt. I have seen this effect on a French model. It is very pretty.