A manual of home-making

Silk: *Sinc€* silk m an animal fiber, it burn.^^ much like wool» altlnrngh more rapidly, with a blue leanitig flame, h leaves an oily, gummy globule. Unless silk material is weigh tcnl, when burned it is .^^irnilaj* lo the ftilk fiber. If the silk niaterial is heavily weighted, the bump*! fiibric leaves a Hhell-like residue slightly smaller than the f^ample. This remaining shell is the weighting which does not bum easily; it crumbles at the aligbtcst touch. More satisfactory than lighting a silk sample is to place the sample on a tin dish and set it in a very hot oven. Tlie Bilk will burn away leaving the weighting in the ahape of the original sample. Linen: Since hnen i^ a vegetable fiber, it bums in much the same way as cotton. It is slightly \v^ inflammable than cotton, beeause it has more oil; it leaves al>out the sfmie {xAi. Union goodie : In testing union goods, or materinls mjidc of several dif- ferent filH'ra, the problem ii? more diflicult. In this ease the material is frayed and b*>th the wiirp and the tilling tested separately. To carry the test shll further, Ijoth the warp and the filling threads may be untwisted and the various fibers in each yarn tested. Tearing, The tearing of material will help to determine in a general way the kind of filler as well as the strength of the material. Cotton material: Cotton material tears c^isily with a shrill sound. Tlic torn edges are fuzzy and have a tendency to curt. Wool material: Wool material tears with a dull or muffled sound. The ease with which the cloth tears depends on the weight of tlie yam and the weave. If cotton and Wixil are woven together, the kinds of fibere may often he distinguiKht^d along the tear* Plain silks: Plain silks tear with a ratlier clean edge and give a shrill sound. If corded, the ^ilk tears with diflicidty if at all. Linen: Linen tears with difhciilty, leaving the ends of the broken threads with long straight smooth fibera projecting. If cotton is present in a hnen fabric, it may often be distlngui^ed along the torn edges. I I I TEXTILES WEAVE ' The weave affects the appearance and often the wearing quality of cloth. A close twill weave makes a fimi, (Uirable ma- terial, while the loose ha^^ket weave give.s quite a different effect and is frequently lacking in firmness. The satin or sateen weave makes a beautiful surface especially in linens or silks, but may cover up defects in the hidden tlireads. Fancy weaves in cotton novelties, in shirt-waist materials, and in fancy mulls, often leave loose threads which become soiled easily antl may not be as attractive after washing. A cloth with a verj-^ heaiy cross thread or filling, and a very fine warp, or vice versa, may split because of the great dtfTcrence in tlie strength of the threads. Sometimes figures are woven in such a way that wlien the cloth is finished each figure has short ends of thread For ex- ample, in weaving madras curtain material, the filling thread which makes the figure, jumpH from one figure to another, and after the material leaves the looni» the loose threads on the back of the material are cut off. Often these short pieces wash out, or the ends become rough and fuzzy looking. ♦ Univ. of m., Bull 15. CHAPTER XV THE MAKING OF CLOTHING By Beulah Blackmore