WASHING LACE CUR- TAINS.— The curtains which are cleaned by French or professional laundresses are usually bleached by the use of bleaching-powders, which will make the lace beautifully clear and white, but usually injure the fabric ; and when possible it is much safer to have them done up at home. The pre- vailing impression has been that there was some peculiar mystery in bleaching lace of any kind ; that the process was tedious and very intricate, and if not done by a professed starcher, the lace was in imminent danger of destruction. The work is as simple as any wash- ing. Shake all the dust out of the lace curtains when taken down, but be gentle about it to avoid tearing. The shaking will remove the greater part of the loose dirt. Then spread them across two lines near together in the clothes-yard, and brush them softly with a clean feather duster. When this has been done, put them, one at a time, into a tub half full of milk- warm water and add two tablespoon- fuls of liquid ammonia. Let them re- main ten or fifteen minutes, turning them over carefully every minute or two, and squeezing with the hands. This, together with the ammonia, will loosen all the dirt, after which squeeze out gently but as dry as can be done without breaking the meshes. Have ready another tub of tepid water with some more ammonia, and put the cur- tain into that immediately. Let it soak while the next curtain is taken through the same process as the first, and so on till all the curtains have been taken through at least three waters, or till the water looks clear — squeezing and wash- ing the curtains with the hands as the work goes on. Ammonia in the first two waters is sufficient, and if not very gray and smoky it will only be needed in the first. After taking the curtains through the three waters, many starch and blue them, and, without any soap or scald- ing, prepare to stretch them and pin in shape. But we prefer to put them into a bag, or coarse pillow-case, and scald in clean soapsuds✪ Washing Lace Curtains (not very strong) for a few minutes. The suds should be made of very pure soap, and the water, when they are first put in, only tepid ; then just bring to a boiling heat. While the curtains are scalding pre- pare two tubs of clean water — one to rinse the curtains when they are taken from the boiler, and the other for the last rinsing. This should be blued ; and the starch requires to be blued quite deeply, as, when hung up against the light, lace does not show it. The blued water and starch should be strained, that no mote of bluing may escape to settle on the curtains. Take the curtains from the boiler when slightly scalded, rinse thoroughly, but with a gentle hand, till all the suds are out, then squeeze out, and put through the bluing-water, squeeze from that, and prepare to stretch and pin out smoothly to the original length and width. This must be done when just taken from the wafer, as lace cannot be stretched when dry. The whole pro- cess of washing, scalding, rinsing, and stretching should be done as expedi- tiously as consistent with thorough work, for no other cotton material shrinks so easily.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

WASHING LACE CUR- TAINS.— The curtains which are cleaned by French or professional laundresses are usually bleached by the use of bleaching-powders, which will make the lace beautifully clear and white, but usually injure the fabric ; and when possible it is much safer to have them done up at home. The prevailing impression has been that there was some peculiar mystery in bleaching lace of any kind ; that the process was tedious and very intricate, and if not done by a professed starcher, the lace was in imminent danger of destruction. The work is as simple as any washing. Shake all the dust out of the lace curtains when taken down, but be gentle about it to avoid tearing. The shaking will remove the greater part of the loose dirt. Then spread them across two lines near together in the clothes-yard, and brush them softly with a clean feather duster. When this has been done, put them, one at a time, into a tub half full of milkwarm water and add two tablespoonfuls of liquid ammonia. Let them remain ten or fifteen minutes, turning them over carefully every minute or two, and squeezing with the hands. This, together with the ammonia, will loosen all the dirt, after which squeeze out gently but as dry as can be done without breaking the meshes. Have ready another tub of tepid water with some more ammonia, and put the curtain into that immediately. Let it soak while the next curtain is taken through the same process as the first, and so on till all the curtains have been taken through at least three waters, or till the water looks clear — squeezing and washing the curtains with the hands as the work goes on. Ammonia in the first two waters is sufficient, and if not very gray and smoky it will only be needed in the first. After taking the curtains through the three waters, many starch and blue them, and, without any soap or scalding, prepare to stretch them and pin in shape. But we prefer to put them into a bag, or coarse pillow-case, and scald in clean soapsuds (not very strong) for a few minutes. The suds should be made of very pure soap, and the water, when they are first put in, only tepid ; then just bring to a boiling heat. While the curtains are scalding prepare two tubs of clean water — one to rinse the curtains when they are taken from the boiler, and the other for the last rinsing. This should be blued ; and the starch requires to be blued quite deeply, as, when hung up against the light, lace does not show it. The blued water and starch should be strained, that no mote of bluing may escape to settle on the curtains. Take the curtains from the boiler when slightly scalded, rinse thoroughly, but with a gentle hand, till all the suds are out, then squeeze out, and put through the bluing-water, squeeze from that, and prepare to stretch and pin out smoothly to the original length and width. This must be done when just taken from the wafer, as lace cannot be stretched when dry. The whole process of washing, scalding, rinsing, and stretching should be done as expeditiously as consistent with thorough work, for no other cotton material shrinks so easily.

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