HOW TO WASH, STIFFEN AND IRON A PALE BLUE MUSLIN BLOUSE.
By C.F. Picton-Gadsden
The Girl's Own Paper (October17, 1903)
Steep the blouse for ten minutes in cold salt and water to set the colour. Then prepare two baths of tepid water, softened with a little soap-lather and bran. To make soap-lather, shred a quarter of a pound of soap into one quart of water, simmer this over a fire in an enamelled pan until it is dissolved. Stir a small quantity into the tepid water in both baths. Too much lather will destroy the colour of the muslin. To make bran-water, tie a breakfast-cupful of bran in muslin, put into a quart of water, simmer for fifteen minutes; take it out of the water, dry it and keep it for future use. Stir the bran-water into the two baths of tepid water and lather. Bran will prevent the colour running. Squeeze the steeping water out of the blouse, shake it well, and plunge it right side out into the first. bath of prepared water. Squeeze the lather through it quickly, pay attention to the neck and wrist-band, elbows and. armholes, and across the back, as those parts are usually the dirtiest. When washed all over, squeeze the dirty water and lather out of the blouse; do not wring it, as that would twist the fibres of the muslin, giving it a drawn look. Shake the blouse, turn it to the wrong side, and repeat the process in the second bath of water.
When washed, rinse it first in warm water to remove the soap, then in cold salt and water to set the colour, and if at all necessary the blouse may be dipped lastly into blue water; but care must be taken not to give it a streaky appearance. If the colour be at all faded or washed out, dip the blouse into vinegar and water, as the acid of the vinegar will counteract the alkali in the soap, and will restore the blue colour of the muslin. Use one tablespoonful of vinegar to two quarts of water.
To stiffen the blouse. If the muslin blouse has been washed in bran-water, it will require but little stiffening, as the starch contained in the bran will give a certain amount of stiffness to it. But if required at all stiff, boiling-water starch should be used, made as follows: – One tablespoonful of starch mixed to a cream with a very little cold water, half a teaspoonful of borax dissolved in a little boiling water and strained, a quarter of an inch of tallow candle or a piece of wax the size of sixpence, and enough boiling water to render the starch a semi-transparent jelly. This quantity must have more water added to it, or it will make the muslin too stiff. The starch should pour easily, and it should. be allowed to get nearly cold before using it, or it will destroy the colour of the muslin. Blue, especially, needs the greatest care in starching and ironing. Shake the blouse well and put it whilst it is wet into the starch. Squeeze the starch out of it and shake the blouse again, or the muslin will not look clear when it is ironed. Fold it in a cloth and, if there be a wringer, pass the blouse through it, as the rollers will not twist the fibres of the muslin. Never twist muslin in wringing it.
The blouse must be ironed whilst it is wet, and a piece of white muslin should be placed between it and the iron. Place the blouse in front of you and begin with the neck-band and yoke; be careful to arrange it flat and straight, as that makes it so much easier to iron. After the neck-band and yoke are ironed quite dry, then do the sleeves, after which iron the whole blouse, beginning at one side and working all round it. Use only a moderately warm iron, as great heat would scorch the muslin and take away the colour. In ironing sleeves without a sleeve-board, keep turning the sleeve round and round to prevent a line being pressed down the middle; also lift the sleeve being ironed and place the hand inside it two or three times to prevent it sticking together, which would make it crease and spoil its appearance.
When all the blouse is ironed quite dry, fasten it by the buttons or hooks, fold the sleeves across the front and place it to air. Care must be taken to iron the blouse quite dry, or it will have a rough-dried look. The small parts are always ironed first as they dry so quickly; should the muslin get dry before or whilst it is being ironed, a damping flannel must be used. Sometimes it is not convenient to iron blouses directly they are washed; then let them get dry, and just before ironing dip them into clean cold water and starch as directed above.
These remarks on washing, stiffening and ironing pale blue muslin can be applied to any delicate colours, but greens and blues as a rule require the vinegar and water for rinsing more than other colours. White muslins are washed in the same way as other fine white things, only the white muslin must be starched whilst wet, and it must be well shaken, or it will not look clear when ironed.