A manual of home-making

If the hflt is act to l>e used in its original shape again, it 8hf>ij!tl 1h» ripped apart. Any wire should be rolled and ribbons and velvet cleant^. All rovered wire should ije saved, since it is not always easy to obtain a piece of wire when needed* If millinery material is cleaned and rolled instead of folded it may offer a much greater suggestion for remodeling than when it is soiled and crushed. The frame nuiterial is not often good enough to be used agaiiit but if it is in fair condition it may be improved by dampen- ing and it^pressing. Good pieces may Ije saved for making buckles, backs for ribbon decorations, or for piecing out another frame. I I I MILLINERY 401 good'^ ^B Staws, If straw braid on a hat is fatle^l, the hat may be ripped ap and the braid dyed and sewed into a new sliape. Several eolor hquids that dye the straw instantly and finish it in one operation are now on the market. Sometimes an old hat that has faded and lost its stiffnes^s may be freshened for another sea'ion with a coating of color liquid. Brushing with alcohol will oft^n brighten a black straw hat. A straw hat may be bleached by being exposed in a clased rhamber to the fumes of burning sulfur. An old flour barrel is often used for this purpose by milh'ners. The sulfur is ignited on a fire shovel or a metal dish placed on the grountL The hat, which has Ixnini sponged well in water, is hung in the barrel, and the barrel is turned over the burning sulfm* for a few hours. To clean leghorns, panama^, iiiilans, an*! other lin(^ straws^ a solution of oxalic acid may Ix^ used in the prtjportion of one teaspoon of oxalic acid to one pint of water. The straw should be brushed thoroughly and rinsed immediately in clear hot water. As much moisture as possible should be wiped off, and the hat hung to dry in the heat or fresh air. When it is nearly dr>'', it should be pressed in shape with a hot iron, muslin lieing placed l>etw^een the iron and the hat. If a mushroom shajx^ is desired, the hat should be held with the erown up during the pressing, and the brim should be stretched slightly while being pressed, bit by bit. If a flat brim is desired, the hat should be pressed flat on the edge of a table^ the crown being allowed to come below the table top. Afterwards it should be laid flat on the table, weights should be place*! on the brim, and it should be left until it is ixirfectly dry. Crowns should l.>e presstKl with a small iron on the inside. A sleeve-board Ls very convenient for thLs pressing. A white straw^ that has been sun-burned may be made yellow by being placed for a few^ moments in a strong solu- tion of soda and water. The hat should then l>e shaken to remove the water and pressed under a thin cloth until it in dry. 402 A MANUAL OF HOME-MAKING Flawer$. Ftowcni may be trimmed along the edges and retouched witT water color paints or oil paints mixed with gar^litie. Flowers made of silkr muslin, sateen, or velvet can be freshened by being shaken gently over a steaming cloth. Ribbons,