LADIES’ COLUMN

Thames Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 17662, 13 August 1929, Page 2

LADIES’ COLUMN

THREE PRECIOUS HINTS. A fortune is said to await the man who in.oats real’y holeproof stockings. Here is a* hint which will cut down vour mending. Keep a piece of candle in your work-basket, and after washing your stockings, go oyer each pair and rub some candle-wax over the heels, toes, and any places that r.re likely to wear through. You will he surprised how much longer they will wear. A manufacturer of silk stockings whispered to me the other day that it is always wise to wash stockings tlr.ough before wearing them. Tins strengthens both the cheap and expensive* makes. Akv) r if' a cheaper stceking should be shiny in appearance and obviously not the real thing, in silk, washing will remove the glossiness and give more the effect of pure silk. There are always lots of pins strewn ever the floor after an afternoon’s needlework,-and it’s such a bother to pick them all up one by one. Did you know that a magnet will pick up all your dropped pins and needles? Tie a string to it and it wifi do the work itself. All you need to do is to trail it over the carpet.

YOUR WASHING. VELVETEEN WASHES BEAUTIFULLY.

' When made of cotton, velveteen of almost any colour washes splendidly; the lighter shades are perhaps the most successful, but excellent results

can he obtained with darker tones if attended to in the following way:—

Prepare warm, soap lather just as for the flannels. Squeeze, the garment very gently, for here even a suggestion of twisting will give a . shaded look to the velveteen. Rinse in warm water, removing the water as much as possible by. pressure in a dry bath or basin. It does not matter if the garment is dripping when put over the line; in fact, better results are gained in this way as long as it is a good day for drying. Use hangers where possible, hut otherwise just throw over the line changing the position every now and then, .

i . While still quite damp, but not dripping, take the garment in* and hang in front of a fire with the right side, to the heat. This plan will raise the pile as the moisture evaporates. I Sometimes no ironing at all is needed, but where a little pressure seems advisable iron on the wrong side on a really thick blanket. ! No other treatment of velveteen will give such exceptionally nice results.

BRAN WATER. FOR, COLOURED CRETONNES.

Light and lightly-coloured cretonnes are washed and finished in the same ■ way as prints, but for darker colours : this material should be washed in bran water,. | Use a ' large cupful of bran to a '■ quart of cold water. Tie the bran in a little bag of muslin and put it in a. saucepan with the water. Bring it to the boil and allow it jbo- simmer for not more than half an hour. Strain and dilute before using. A pint of this bran water added to half a small bath | of water will be sufficient hare. Add melted sc<ap to the bran water and wash well. Rinse also in weak bran water. Wring and hang outdoors until neanl-y dry. Iron on the wrong side for good results. That white thin look one can see so oftep on black flowered cretonnes is give by ironing on the right side.

• OBSTINATE SCORCH MARKS. Take four ounces of washing soda, four ounces of fuller’s earth, two small onions, and one pint of vinegar. Peel the onions, slice and pound them up. Add the fuller’s earth and vinegar and mix well. Now add the soda and put all in art old saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for ten minutes. Strain careful’y and bottle. This mixture is splendid for bad scoich marks and many other stubborn stains. It will keep fresh for a year or more. To use. rub on the stain, then rinse thoroughly.

THAT LEAKING EIDERDOWN. An eiderdown that “leaks” and a pillow that gives one a crick in the neck because of its hardness are depressing things to meet in a bedroom. Tile quilt cover is worn, and the quilt looks thin because .much of the down has “leaked”; the pillow is hard because at is- too full. But robbing Peter to play Paul, things are evened up a little, and by taking out a few handfuls of leathers the pillow is softened and material obtained for refilling the quilt. Snip the hard ends off the feathers, sew up, any little crack s there may be in the cover, make an opening in the mitred cornel’ of each roll, and by putting the feathers into .a paper bag and introducing the mouth of the bag into the opening, it will be found easy to puff the feathers into the quilt by squeezing the bag.

ALL THE WORLD’S A DRESSING ROOM. Oh, goodness! How tired one gets of these girls eternally performing their toilet in public (writes'an Australian woman). Yesterday—such a fresh, wonderful day—one felt that all the world should begin it bathed and dressed in freshness to match. It seemed to be my lot to see everything otherwise all day. It began with a girl making a hurried dash* for the tram, and when she found it was not there began her toilet by . violently polishing each exceedingly soiled looking shoe on the back of her silk stockings, which looked worse than the shoes, but a s she could not see the effect that did not worry her. Next, she produced a powder puff, and went through the usual drill, after that came out a oomb, and a few side wisps of hair leduced from chaos to a semblance of order. Then the tram hove in sight. In it was a gild cleaning her nails with a hairpin. Later in the day another girl in a tram introduced a lipstick and transformed her lips into a gash. Had she produced a sponge and used it on her face, the effect would have been marvellous! Of the return to modesty to eveiyday use one hac long despaired. Now one wonders if common decency will ever again become popular.

A TESTED RECIPE. Syrup Sauce.—Put two tablespoonfuls of golden syrup into a saucepan with a cupful of water and the strained juice of half a lemon. Simmer slowly for 10 minutes and strain’ A little ginger or other spice may be added if liked. Sj T rup sauce may be served with a plain suet or sponge pudding, and it is much liked by children.