Excerpts from: Godey's
Lady's Book, the January and February 1872 issues.
These ideas from 19th Century experts will bring a smile to your face, with gratitude in
your heart, that these are days gone by. Not all advice from the past is
inapplicable to today. You will find some useful methods for dealing with the
ravages of moths and mildew on your textiles.
Household Linens
Well-mended linen is always creditable, and may last a long time for general
purposes; but, as a certain stock must be kept up, it is as well to have a
choice of new. Some ladies, who pride themselves on their good management of
household linen, add every year a certain number of each article to their store.
Thus, for an ordinary family, two tablecloths, four table napkins, six towels,
one or two pairs of sheets, six pillow-cases, six dusters, the same number of
glass cloths, and other things in proportion, are a regular addition to their
stock. By so doing the expense of replacement is rendered
comparatively easy, and plenty of sound linen can be relied upon at times of
pressure. The additions thus made should be used in their turn, by being placed
in the closet in the order alluded to above. It is hardly possible to set too
much value on the use of old linen for an infinity of purposes to which new
would not be equally well suited. Still, pains should be taken to prevent linen
falling into rags until the utmost wear has been exacted. This brings us to
consider the all-important matter of making repairs.
Re-using Household Linens
Beginning with sheets. Directly the middle of a sheet begins to feel at all thinner than
the other parts, it is time to "turn" it. This is done by simply
cutting the sheet in half and sewing together the outside selvages. The
newly-made seam will then be the middle of the sheet. The sheet, if not much
worn, will require no further alteration for a long time. If, however, the wear
has been considerable, side pieces should be let in to the extent, and several
inches beyond, the worn places. The sides must then be hemmed or sewn in the
ordinary way.
When, after a time, the "turned" sheet wears thin in the
centre, instead of patching it, as some people are apt to do, it is better to
sew the ends together, making the ends of the sheets now the middle. Or, if
there be any children's beds to furnish with sheets, the sound ends and corners
of a good-sized pair of sheets make capital cot sheets, and are more serviceable
for nursery purposes than any other kinds. Old linen sheets are generally soft
in wear, and admit of being washed more easily from stains than new. The same
method of turning pillow-cases may be observed. To be profitable, they should be
turned before the threads break into holes.
When table-linen requires constant
darning, it is time to change its use from the table to the sideboard. For all
general purposes, old tablecloths are good enough for the above use. The corners
and ends make useful tray-cloths, and small, sound pieces may be picked out of
almost all old table-linen for dishing-cloths, that is, cloths folded in small
squares to place beneath pastry and pie-dishes, or to wrap round a Stilton
cheese or pudding-basin, and numberless other purposes where old damask may be
used instead of new. When quite reduced to rags, old damask should be washed and
mangled with the same care as new, and set aside in the linen-closet for use in
the sick-room. If any sound selvages be left, pieces of from three to four
inches broad should be cut off, and smoothly herring-boned together in lengths
of from one to three yards, and afterwards rolled up neatly for surgical
bandages.
It may not be often that such accidents occur as to require
similar appliances, but the head of a household should be prepared to meet
demands of the kind, and by so doing her readiness may save life or limb.
The remains of coarse huckaback toweling are excellent for use as plate-rags.
Torn muslin curtains are not so generally convertible; at the same time, if old
muslin be cleaned from starch, it is useful for poultices, and some should,
therefore, be at hand in the linen-closet. Pieces of muslin, also, are often
required by the cook for tying up herbs and spices, when making soups, gravies,
etc., and as these are generally thrown away when removed from the stewpan, old
muslin answers as well as new. In repairing muslin, it is necessary to have all
the starch previously washed out.
Quilts are generally darned when needing repair. Large old quilts may be
advantageously cut up for small beds. Light marcella quilts are to be
recommended in preference to other kinds. In converting old quilts , the hems
should be herring-boned with coarse darning cotton.
Marking Household Linens
All household linen should be marked with the name
or joint initials of the owners. The date of the year in which linen was added
to the stock should be marked above the name, and the number of the articles
constituting the set underneath. If a set consist of six articles, the figure 6
should be inscribed in preference to running numbers. All articles making the
set should be of the same size and pattern. Sets of linen reserved for certain
uses should be described accordingly.
Arranging the Linen Closet
The first requisite is a closet, or press, in
which to store linen. With a little management, most houses, even the least
considerately planned, may be made to afford the desired space. If it should
happen that any choice in the matter exists, a linen-closet should be contrived
against a wall in
goes here. connection with a chimney where a fire is
daily burning. Any apartment of which the wall is built against the flues of a
kitchen fire is the best for the desired purpose. The gentle warmth which the
bricks retain is the best means of preserving linen from mildew, so troublesome
to prevent in damp situations. The worst place for a linen-closet is, for the
same reason, against an outside wall, especially if the wall be exposed to a
south-westerly aspect, or shaded by trees . . . At the end of summer, a good
manager puts away her best white quilts, muslin curtains,
thick blankets, and the light cotton and linen garments of her children . . . No
linen or muslin articles should be placed in the linen-closet, if they be
likely to remain there any length of time, without the starch having been
previously removed, and the things "rough dried." The airing of sheets
and counterpanes especially should be thorough, and, if possible, they should be
put away straight from the fire. It is owing to the imperfect manner in which
such work is usually performed that mildew so constantly affects linen.
When articles are put away from the wash, those of the past week's washing
should be placed at the bottom of the pile to which they belong, and not laid on
the top. By this means the same articles are kept in wear in turn, and thereby
even a limited stock may be made to last longer without extensive renewal, than
when only two or three things are in constant use. Articles that are reserved
for use on special occasions should be kept apart from the rest. Inside the door
of the linen-closet, or press, should be pasted a list of all the linen kept in
the closet. If the family be large, and the beds numerous, the order in which
the sheets should be changed should be noted in a separate list. It is hardly
possible for the head of a family to bear all these details in mind without such
assistance, and the comfort of her household depends largely on the amount of
regularity that is observed in such matters.
Mildew Removal
It is very difficult to remove mildew when it has taken firm
hold of linen. The following compound is sometimes found successful: Take equal
parts of soft soap and powdered starch, and half the quantity of table-salt, add
as much lemon-juice as will convert the ingredients into a thick paste, cover
the spots with the mixture, and leave the linen exposed in the open air till the
mildew is removed.
As a preventive of mildew after damp
weather, the linen-closet should be occasionally opened, and free air suffered
to circulate in it through an open window. The contents of the closet should
also be aired before a good fire, or in the sun.
Natural Moth Repellents
Next to mildew, moth is the most troublesome matter
to deal with connected with the preservation of woollen stores. Numberless
remedies are recommended for the prevention of moth in woollens and furs. Spices
of all kinds pepper, camphor, turpentine, and of late, paraffine have been
amongst the most often-tried remedies. Each and all may occasionally have proved
successful, inasmuch as moths particularly dislike strong odors of any kind, and
rarely attack scented materials in preference to those which are devoid of
smell. The only true preventative of moth, however, lies in the use of alum.
The keeper of some large and valuable woollen and fur stores
lately informed the writer that no means are equally efficacious in preventing
the attack of moth as the application of finely-powdered alum to all articles
which do not admit of being saturated, and by soaking those articles which do
not suffer by immersion in a solution of alum and water. With regard to the
treatment of furs, it is not sufficient to dust the powdered alum on the
surface; it should be well worked in at the roots of the hair, the portion
nearest the skin being the parwhich moths begin first to devour. Colored woollen
materials require the same kind of treatment. There is one exception in favor of
red cloth. It is not within the experience of the gentleman mentioned that moths
destroy red-dyed woollens. This probably arises from the circumstance that alum
is used in the process of dyeing red. All shades of gray, on the contrary, are
particularly enticing to moths, and require especial care to preserve. White
woollens and blankets may be safely left, even in exposed places, if, after
having been washed, they are dipped in a solution of alum and water. |
Collecting More Household Linens by Frances Johnson
Wholecloth Linen Quilts: Patterns & Designs (Golden Threads)
by Cindy Needham
Graced by Lace: A Guide for Collectors of Antique Linen and Lace
by Debra Bonito,
208 p. 388 color photos
Eight chapters: Lace Trim,
Bridal Hankies, Fashion, Society Embroidery, Appenzell-work, Bed Linens,
Table Linens, and Miscellaneous Lace and/or Embroidered Pieces. Each
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lace and embroidery. The price range associated with each will help the
reader understand the effects that age, condition, and workmanship have on
value. This book will appeal to beginners and experienced collectors
alike.
Guide to Lace and Linens
by Elizabeth M. Kurella
20th Century Linens and Lace, a Guide to Identification, Care and Prices
of Household Linens
by Elizabeth Scofield
Hanky
Panky: An Intimate History of the Handkerchief
by Helen Gustafson,
176 p.
In earlier times, handkerchiefs were an
'indispensable part of every woman’s wardrobe and toilette'. In this
book, the unique history of the handkerchief in America is brought to life
by the storytelling talent of Helen Gustafson and is presented in a
combination of memoir and social history. The book contains marvelous
illustrations, as well as gossip about icons such as Marlene Dietrich,
Joan Crawford, and Jackie Kennedy. You'll find full-color illustrations of
100+ unusual handkerchiefs from the author’s large collection. This
includes rare commemorative handkerchiefs that have never been seen in one
collection.
The Book of Fine Linen
by FranCoise de Bonneville
Collecting Household Linens
by Frances Johnson (Paperback
- Jan 1, 2000) |