Washing Calicoes
To make Common Starch
Mix a pint of wheat flour with cold water, till it is the consistence of
batter, stir it into a gallon of boiling water, let it boil a few
minutes, when strain it and mix in the blue--when it is ready to thin
for white clothes. Some put a small piece of tallow in the starch as it
boils--it makes it clearer.
Washing Calicoes
Calicoes may be kept from fading by washing them in the suds after white
clothes, if it requires more soap, stir it in the water, as putting it
on the garment will fade it, have the water moderately warm, and put in
a handful of salt, when all the dirt is out, rinse them in clean water,
starch, and hang them to dry on the wrong side, where they will get the
air but not the sun. Alum is good to set colors. If you want to wash a
calico dress, which you know will fade, make a corn mush, and as it
boils, pour off half, which use as soap in washing the dress, and with
the other half, (which should be boiled well,) starch it, and hang it
out immediately. In washing bed quilts, to prevent fading, spread them
on the clean grass wrong side up, this prevents the colors running into
each other.
For chintz or lawn dresses have very nice starch, and clap it into them,
after they are hung on the line, they iron much better this way, and
look almost like new, sometimes to wash the cuffs and lower part
carefully, and press it all over, will do without washing the whole
dress. For ironing the skirt have a narrow ironing board, covered with a
piece of blanket, to slip inside the dress.
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