Practice Work. — Dampen and roll up colored apron.
Soak white apron and handkerchiefs in warm suds. Make
thin starch with one level tablespoonful of cornstarch and
one quart of water, boil well, and add a very little bluing.
To find out that the starch is the right consistency, dip a
piece of muslin into it and iron it. The muslin should
seem like new, never be stiff or rattle. Squeeze the dirt
out of the muslin, never rub it on the board. If it is soiled,
rub it very gently between the hands. Boil, rinse well,
blue, and put the muslin into the thin starch. Wring the
muslin between cloths but do not twist it, shake and cla])
it between the hands until dry enough to iron. Stretch it
304 HANDBOOK OF DOMESTIC SCIENCE
into shape upon the board, iron first the strings, next the
band, then the hem, and lastly from hem to band. Be sure
that each part is left dry and free from wrinkles. If a part
dries too soon, rub it lightly with a damp cloth and iron it
again. Handkerchiefs should be soaked in a strong suds
by themselves, especially if the owner has been suffering
from a cold. They should be well boiled, but do not need
starch unless they are very thin ; in that case put a little
starch into the bluing- water. This makes the linen seem
like new, no stiffer. Usually handkerchiefs are hung in
the sun to bleach and dry, then they are sprinkled and
ironed with a hot iron while yet quite damp. This stiffens
them. Fine embroidered handkerchiefs may be clear
starched, clapped dry, and ironed wrong side up over
several thicknesses of flannel. Fold handkerchiefs like a
napkin, square and true.
Iron colored apron as you did the white one, and hang it
to air.
Course I : Lesson VII
Wool (Underwear) . — Under the microscope we see that
the wool fibre is composed of numbers of sheaths, about
three thousand to the inch. The outer edge of each sheath
or section is uneven and often jagged. These little points
hook into each other when the fibres are slipped by, and
when they would slip back to their original position tlie
little hooks hold fast and the material shrinks. This
change of position of the fibres is caused by rubbing or by
the expansion and contraction of heat and cold. Poor
soaps tend to thicken flannels ; and if soap is rubbed into
flannel, it is hard to remove without shrinking the material.
As we do not wish to have flannels shrink, care must be
taken that conditions are right.
Practice Work. — Make soap solution. Shake and brush
THE LAUNDRY 305
underwear to get all the loose dirt out of it. Make a suds
in two or more tubs, having temperature of all the same —
about 100° Fahrenheit, the temperature of the body — that
is, so that the hand can very comfortably be held in the
water. Add half a tablespoonful of ammonia for each gallon
of water and put underwear a-soak for ten minutes or
twenty. Squeeze the dirt out, never rub it. Put the
garment through a wringer, do not twist or wring it by
hand. Never rub soap on it. Put it through a second suds
and a third if necessary. If a soiled part does not yield to
this treatment, stretch it upon some smooth surface and
with a soap solution on a soft brush, rub it. Rinse the
garment in several waters of the same temperature as the
first. If the water is hard, add a little soap solution to
soften it. Rinse until the water is clear.
Page 148
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Practice Work. — Dampen and roll up colored apron.
Soak white apron and handkerchiefs in warm suds. Make
thin starch with one level tablespoonful of cornstarch and
one quart of water, boil well, and add a very little bluing.
To find out that the starch is the right consistency, dip a
piece of muslin into it and iron it. The muslin should
seem like new, never be stiff or rattle. Squeeze the dirt
out of the muslin, never rub it on the board. If it is soiled,
rub it very gently between the hands. Boil, rinse well,
blue, and put the muslin into the thin starch. Wring the
muslin between cloths but do not twist it, shake and cla])
it between the hands until dry enough to iron. Stretch it
304 HANDBOOK OF DOMESTIC SCIENCE
into shape upon the board, iron first the strings, next the
band, then the hem, and lastly from hem to band. Be sure
that each part is left dry and free from wrinkles. If a part
dries too soon, rub it lightly with a damp cloth and iron it
again. Handkerchiefs should be soaked in a strong suds
by themselves, especially if the owner has been suffering
from a cold. They should be well boiled, but do not need
starch unless they are very thin ; in that case put a little
starch into the bluing- water. This makes the linen seem
like new, no stiffer. Usually handkerchiefs are hung in
the sun to bleach and dry, then they are sprinkled and
ironed with a hot iron while yet quite damp. This stiffens
them. Fine embroidered handkerchiefs may be clear
starched, clapped dry, and ironed wrong side up over
several thicknesses of flannel. Fold handkerchiefs like a
napkin, square and true.
Iron colored apron as you did the white one, and hang it
to air.
Course I : Lesson VII
Wool (Underwear) . — Under the microscope we see that
the wool fibre is composed of numbers of sheaths, about
three thousand to the inch. The outer edge of each sheath
or section is uneven and often jagged. These little points
hook into each other when the fibres are slipped by, and
when they would slip back to their original position tlie
little hooks hold fast and the material shrinks. This
change of position of the fibres is caused by rubbing or by
the expansion and contraction of heat and cold. Poor
soaps tend to thicken flannels ; and if soap is rubbed into
flannel, it is hard to remove without shrinking the material.
As we do not wish to have flannels shrink, care must be
taken that conditions are right.
Practice Work. — Make soap solution. Shake and brush
THE LAUNDRY 305
underwear to get all the loose dirt out of it. Make a suds
in two or more tubs, having temperature of all the same —
about 100° Fahrenheit, the temperature of the body — that
is, so that the hand can very comfortably be held in the
water. Add half a tablespoonful of ammonia for each gallon
of water and put underwear a-soak for ten minutes or
twenty. Squeeze the dirt out, never rub it. Put the
garment through a wringer, do not twist or wring it by
hand. Never rub soap on it. Put it through a second suds
and a third if necessary. If a soiled part does not yield to
this treatment, stretch it upon some smooth surface and
with a soap solution on a soft brush, rub it. Rinse the
garment in several waters of the same temperature as the
first. If the water is hard, add a little soap solution to
soften it. Rinse until the water is clear.