“FINE LINEN”

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18849, 11 April 1931, Page 9

“FINE LINEN”

SIMPLE TESTS WHEN BUYING. Even recognised good shoppers are not always able to test linen in order ' to be sure of getting value for money expended. Yet the tests are quite simple. If you take a piece of fabric known to be cotton and another piece alleged to be linen, and apply them in turn to your cheek, the cotton will feel infinitely warmer than the linen. Linen should feel cold to the touch. Another reliable test that is adopted in many stores is to rub the material between the finger and thumb for a moment or two, when any excess dressing will crumble and fall out in dustlike particles. High-grade linen will produce scarcely any of this “dust.” Testing linen with a magnifying glass has its good points, for flax threads will be seen to be cylindrical in form, while cotton threads are flat. The “fire” test is also a decisive factor in determining the quality of linen. Apply a lighted match to some threads pulled from the coth. Cotton threads burn readily, and even continue to glow after the flame is extinguished; with linen threads the reverse happens. This, however, is a trade test which seldom needs to be undertaken by the housewife. It sometimes happens that linen which seemed of the finest quality when bought shows signs of deterioration after being kept awhile. In this case the method of storage is at fault. The linen cupboard should be dry, but not too hot; much heat turns the fabric yellow, and causes it to become brittle. As soon as linen shows signs of deterioration through storing it should be used, for use will prolong its life. When it is washed and “got up” wrap it in blue tissue paper before storing again. DO YOU KNOW? That paper used for storing fabrics and clothes should be either blue or yellowish. There is a certain amount of chloride of lime in white paper, which may destroy the colours of the articles stored. That paint splashes which have dried on to windows after redecorations can be easily removed by rubbing the affected surface with the edge of a penny, then cleaning the windows in the ordinary way. That tumbers that have become fixed together can easily be taken apart if the outside one is tapped gently all round with another tumbler. Flowerpots can be “unstuck” in the same way with another pot, and a glass stopper that is fixed in a bottle will often yield if tapped with another stopper. LINEN TABLE CLOTHS. Some most attractive and serviceable table cloths, which would serve excellently in the nursery, are made of Irish linen, in large square shapes. The cloths are a deep cream colour, and have charming striped borders of blue and orange, or green and orange. TWO USEFUL HINTS. Here are two useful hints that are not generally known. Before storing cut glass decanters, dry them and rinse them out with a spoonful of spirits of wine, pouring off the excess and then allowing what is left to evaporate from the unstoppered decanters. When two ?class utensils become stuck one in the other, pour cold water Into the inner one and stand the outer one in warm water, when they will come apart