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The Proper Lady's Guide to Perfect Shirts (Moderated by Deepika)
Posted on: 5/27/16 12:45 PM ET
In reply to BriarRose
Linen.....argh!!! only way to get it glossy and smooth is to beat it into submission. Weaving with it has taught me a lot.
The 'mansion' down the road formerly grew and processed linen with slave labor. House slaves likely got the tasks you link, while the farm slaves planted and harvested (subculture kept them from associating). They wore these garments for many days, if not weeks before they were washed again. After wearing that long, they probably would stand up on their own without the starch!
The 'mansion' down the road formerly grew and processed linen with slave labor. House slaves likely got the tasks you link, while the farm slaves planted and harvested (subculture kept them from associating). They wore these garments for many days, if not weeks before they were washed again. After wearing that long, they probably would stand up on their own without the starch!
Posted on: 5/27/16 1:13 PM ET
This is why, on those cute "old fashioned" day of the week embroidery patterns, Ironing has it's own day (separate from Laundry/Washing or Mending!
Posted on: 5/27/16 1:36 PM ET
Plus, remember there were no electric irons in those days--the iron had to be heated on top of the wood stove. With the heat from the wood stove, and the heat emanating from the iron(s), this was a very hot and fatiguing task if you had to iron during the summer months. Makes me appreciate my electric iron!
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Bongoramsey
Posted on: 5/27/16 9:23 PM ET
Makes me appreciate fashionably rumpled fabric.
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It's just fabric; we can out-think it.
Posted on: 5/27/16 9:31 PM ET
In reply to BriarRose


Posted on: 5/27/16 10:18 PM ET
I remember my mother calling it "warshing and wrenching" and she had a "rub board" that she used during her first few years of marriage. I remember seeing a picture of my granddad (her father) sitting next to a gasoline engine driven washing machine, sitting on their back porch, probably taken back in the late 'teens or twenties. This took place on my granddads farm in the panhandle of Texas. I always assumed that they had a wood burning stove that they cooked on and heated their irons on out there since they were so far away from the coal mines of Va or W Va, but my Mother told me that they did use coal for cooking and heating until gas was found on the property and they used gas for heating and light and eventually had a gas generator to have electricity on the farm for refrigeration and power for anything else requiring it. Yes, we do have it easy today compared to how our Mothers and Grandmothers lived.
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Sewing in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia
Sewing Room Pics
https://flic.kr/s/aHsiQ5MC5R
Sewing Room Pics
https://flic.kr/s/aHsiQ5MC5R
Posted on: 5/27/16 10:28 PM ET
Thanks. Nice little trip down memory lane, but not back THAT far.
Even with the electric iron of days gone by, my mother would start washing clothes very early on Monday morning (wringer washer- hang to dry) and iron on Tuesday. I also remember her using small bluish-green bars of starch. Later on she used the box of irregular shaped dry pellets of Linit starch. Both had to be mixed and stirred with water. On Monday evening (if the clothes were dry by then) she would sprinkle, roll tightly, and leave in a basket overnight for ironing the next day.
She taught me how to iron evenly dampened starched cotton shirts/blouses.........25 minutes per shirt, but she did not crease for drawer storage. She put them on hangers. Lots of pressure and pulling of the collar, cuffs, and placket used when ironing shirts. Wow, they looked beautiful when finished, but it took all day to iron for a family.
I continued ironing that way for years, but used spray sizing or starch and a steam iron......no more sprinkling. Then I quit. lol I told everyone (adults) if they wanted ironed shirts THEY could iron them. They did, but never spent the time on a shirt that I did, and you know what, they really did not look bad, even though they would not iron the back side of a sleeve. lol
Posted on: 5/28/16 0:06 AM ET
I really, basically, hate ironing! But I still like the look of a well-ironed shirt. I still have the first Rowenta Professional iron I bought from Nancy's Notions. It had the water tank that was removable. It developed a bad leak, Nancy's replaced the tank that was still under warranty - and it leaked! I still use that iron to iron shirts that have been dampened. It does the best job of any iron I've ever had - I just can't use it as a steam iron any longer.
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Sewing in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia
Sewing Room Pics
https://flic.kr/s/aHsiQ5MC5R
Sewing Room Pics
https://flic.kr/s/aHsiQ5MC5R
Posted on: 5/28/16 0:34 AM ET
Quote:
or a piece of butter the size of a cranberry;
or a piece of butter the size of a cranberry;
Yes, let's put butter in our starch and then iron it into our clothes! Lol. I suddenly feel very lucky to NOT live in that era. Those poor women had enough chores to do aside from the ironing. Interesting article, thank you for posting.
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Sewing keeps me from falling apart at the seams!
Bernina 1008, Brother SB4138, Brother 1034D, Janome Coverpro 900CPX
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8538/albums
Bernina 1008, Brother SB4138, Brother 1034D, Janome Coverpro 900CPX
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8538/albums
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