Fig. 144.—The microscope reveals many things.
Fig. 144.—The microscope reveals many things.
Fig. 144.—The microscope reveals many things.
How can clothing material be tested?These are the simple tests which the Pleasant Valley girls learned:
For sizing.This is easy to identify. Pick at the surface with your nail, and the starch or sizing will easily come off. Hang a wet piece in the air and see how the gloss looks then. This sizing often conceals defects in the cloth.These can be seen if the material is thin, by holding it against the light.
Fig. 145.—The test for fading.
Fig. 145.—The test for fading.
Fig. 145.—The test for fading.
Burning tests.The girls unraveled the fibers which Miss James gave them and tested wool, silk, cotton, and linen. They tried both warp and filling threads. They burned them with a taper. The animal threads (which are they?) burned slowly, charred, and smelled like burned feathers. Silk burns to an ash, except when weighted. Then it burns more slowly. When very heavily weighted, the flame does not burn readily and the form of the silk will remain. The vegetable fibers, cotton and linen, burn quickly and with a flame.
Fig. 146.—The test for shrinkage.
Fig. 146.—The test for shrinkage.
Fig. 146.—The test for shrinkage.
Tests with microscope.You have all seen the appearance of the fibers under the microscope. This reveals many things, and theunraveled fibers are easily identified. The microscope is the only sure test for telling cotton and linen fibers. One can sometimes discover shoddy mixed with the all-wool fiber because of the color. Shoddy is sometimes made of old colored woolen rags.
Tests for fading.Pin a piece of cloth on a board with thumb tacks. Cover half with cardboard or heavy paper. Expose to the rays of sun for several days. Remove paper and notice difference. A piece can also be exposed near bright light, but not in sun's rays, to see the effect under ordinary wear. Marjorie Allen tested a piece of cashmere she was considering for a dress and decided not to buy it, for it faded quickly near the bright light.
Fig. 147.—The test for strength.
Fig. 147.—The test for strength.
Fig. 147.—The test for strength.
Tests for strength.Try to break either warp or woof threads. Place the two thumbs together and press down on the cloth which should be held firmly in the hands. Try both sets of threads. Sometimes a weak warp or woof can be discovered.
Tests for shrinkage.Barbara Oakes had a white cotton dress last year which never seemed to stop shrinking. Sometimes we can test materials for shrinkage. Measure width and length of sample to be tested. Wash it in hot water and soap. Dry and measure again. Is it narrower and shorter? In planning for cotton or woolen garments allowance should be made for shrinkage.
Fig. 148.—The chemical tests show many things of use in judging materials.
Fig. 148.—The chemical tests show many things of use in judging materials.
Fig. 148.—The chemical tests show many things of use in judging materials.
Chemical tests.Chemicals are used for identifying fibers. Have you learned in your eighth grade studies about acids and alkalies? Have you studied at all about chemicals? It is possible to discover the composition of woven materials by testing them with chemicals. This is because acids and alkalies affect vegetable and animal fibers in different ways. Look up the difference between acids and alkalies. Study with your teacher and try to discover some of the common food and cleaning materials which we use every day in our homes which are acid or alkali. Some of these teach us we should know what the soaps and washing powders which we use will do to our clothes. Your teacher will provide some chemicals for testing. It is easier to test samples of cloth if they are fringed at the edges. Here are directions for some chemical tests:
1. Place a piece of white cotton cloth and a piece of woolen material in small dishes. Cover with 50 per cent solution of nitric acid. The wool fibers will turn yellow. The cotton remain white. If a piece of wool cloth was mixed with cotton, how would the test prove it?2. Boil samples of cotton and wool together; then samples of cotton and silk together, for fifteen minutes in a 5 per cent solutionof caustic potash. The animal fibers will dissolve, the cotton will remain. Of what use would this test be?3. Moisten samples of cotton and of wool with Millon's reagent. Place in porcelain dishes and heat gently. The animal fibers will become red; the vegetable are unchanged.4. Material made of cotton and linen and sold for all linen can be tested. Place fringed sample in a porcelain dish. Heat gently in 50 per cent solution of caustic potash for two minutes. Remove with glass rod and dry between blotting papers. The linen will be dark yellow in color and the cotton white or light yellow.
1. Place a piece of white cotton cloth and a piece of woolen material in small dishes. Cover with 50 per cent solution of nitric acid. The wool fibers will turn yellow. The cotton remain white. If a piece of wool cloth was mixed with cotton, how would the test prove it?
2. Boil samples of cotton and wool together; then samples of cotton and silk together, for fifteen minutes in a 5 per cent solutionof caustic potash. The animal fibers will dissolve, the cotton will remain. Of what use would this test be?
3. Moisten samples of cotton and of wool with Millon's reagent. Place in porcelain dishes and heat gently. The animal fibers will become red; the vegetable are unchanged.
4. Material made of cotton and linen and sold for all linen can be tested. Place fringed sample in a porcelain dish. Heat gently in 50 per cent solution of caustic potash for two minutes. Remove with glass rod and dry between blotting papers. The linen will be dark yellow in color and the cotton white or light yellow.
So we have learned a few tests of different kinds. There are many more. When you go to high school you can learn about others. The Pleasant Valley girls enjoyed making these tests with Miss James' help. Perhaps you may be able to try them with your teacher.
EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS
1. Try the above chemical tests with your teacher's help.2. Try some of the other tests for adulterations.3. Tell four ways in which materials are adulterated.
1. Try the above chemical tests with your teacher's help.
2. Try some of the other tests for adulterations.
3. Tell four ways in which materials are adulterated.
HOW PATTERN IS MADE IN CLOTH
Barbara said she never could quite see how pattern is made in cloth. There seem to be so many different kinds of patterns. Miss James explained about this. She said there are several ways of making patterns. Some are printed; others woven; some embroidered. Have you discovered this?
Barbara said she never could quite see how pattern is made in cloth. There seem to be so many different kinds of patterns. Miss James explained about this. She said there are several ways of making patterns. Some are printed; others woven; some embroidered. Have you discovered this?
Patterns are often woven.Do you remember, when you studied about linen, you learned that the Jacquardloom has a series of cards above it which are able to control the pattern? Wonderful silks and beautiful velvets and brocades as well as damask table linen are made in this way by weaving. Patterns of stripes and plaids are also made by the loom in weaving. Sometimes the warp or the filling threads are colored; and this color forms patterns in stripes or squares. See if you have any pieces in your surprise box in which pattern is made by colored threads of warp or woof.
Try to find some woven patterns made by the Jacquard loom in silk or linen. Think of all the beautiful ribbons, silks, tablecloth damasks, towels, and napkins; all such patterns are woven by the loom. Plain patterns like basket weave, twill, diagonal, satin weave, are also made by weaving. See if you can work out some of these patterns on your school loom.
Some patterns are printed.On the plain woven material, patterns are printed by means of rollers on which the pattern has been stamped. The colors are put on by this roller. The picture shows the machine. Did you ever have a calico apron or dress of percale or cambric on which the pattern showed on one side only? Many ribbons are printed with a pattern, but sometimes patterns are put on both sides of the cloth. Again, printing is sometimes done on the warp threads before the filling thread is woven in. This makes a dull effect in pattern. Miss James had a piece of ribbon which was so printed. When it was ravelled out a little, the printed warp could be seen.
Courtesy of Cheney Bros.Fig. 149.—Printing cloth by machinery.
Courtesy of Cheney Bros.Fig. 149.—Printing cloth by machinery.
Courtesy of Cheney Bros.
Fig. 149.—Printing cloth by machinery.
Did you ever see a foulard silk dress with white spots? Do you know how they are made? There are two. methods. One is called "resist," and the other "discharge." The first method, "resist," is easy to understand.The material is printed before it is dyed. The spots are printed with a chemical which resists the dye when it is put in the dye bath. So the cloth comes out of the dye with white spots where the chemical was stamped. The "discharge" method is just the opposite. The cloth is dyed blue or black or whatever the color is to be, and then it is passed between rollers something like your wringing machine and the color is taken out in spots by chemicals. Sometimes, when the chemicals are too strong or cheap, they eat the cloth. Jane Alden's cousin had a dress from which the white spots fell out, leaving holes.
Patterns are sometimes printed on cloth by means of wood blocks or stencils. Perhaps you can do some printing on plain cloth. You can make a stencil pattern. Cut out the design in it and paint through the holes, or cut a design from a piece of wood, dip it in color, and print the cloth. Lovely materials are made by hand in this way. Miss James has a beautiful English piece of Morris block printing which she values highly.
Many patterns are embroidered.Look in the piece box. Sometimes embroidered designs are worked on cloth by hand, but many are made by machine. Miss James has a scarf which came from India. It is embroidered in gold with little bits of glass sewed on the right side, and held by the embroidery. This is all hand work. Miss James has a waist with little spots of white embroidered in silk. This is done by machineon a loom. Find some piece of material embroidered by machine.
So Barbara Oakes now understands about the patterns. Miss James had some books to show the girls, too. They looked up in the encyclopedia about printing of materials and about the other things they wished to know about patterns. Barbara says to her the most wonderful thing is the way in which the warp threads of the loom can be controlled by the Jacquard pattern cards and other devices. The shed of the warp as it is raised for each filling thread is governed by the devices, and a different set of threads bobs up for each shuttle throw.
EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS
1. Mount on strips of cardboard, samples of material made:a.By weaving, plain, stripes, diagonal, etc.b.By printing, resist, discharge, machine, block, stencil;c.By embroidery.2. Look up in the encyclopedia or other books the subject of cotton printing.3. Try to find pictures of modern looms and more primitive ones in which pattern is controlled by the harness which raises the warp threads and makes the so-called shed.
1. Mount on strips of cardboard, samples of material made:
a.By weaving, plain, stripes, diagonal, etc.b.By printing, resist, discharge, machine, block, stencil;c.By embroidery.
a.By weaving, plain, stripes, diagonal, etc.
b.By printing, resist, discharge, machine, block, stencil;
c.By embroidery.
2. Look up in the encyclopedia or other books the subject of cotton printing.
3. Try to find pictures of modern looms and more primitive ones in which pattern is controlled by the harness which raises the warp threads and makes the so-called shed.
REVIEW PROBLEMS
I. Look over the fashion pages of your magazines at home and find:1. A young woman suitably dressed for business.2. A girl dressed for outdoor sports.3. A girl in a party gown.Tell why you think each is "well dressed." If not, why?
I. Look over the fashion pages of your magazines at home and find:
1. A young woman suitably dressed for business.2. A girl dressed for outdoor sports.3. A girl in a party gown.
1. A young woman suitably dressed for business.
2. A girl dressed for outdoor sports.
3. A girl in a party gown.
Tell why you think each is "well dressed." If not, why?
II. What textile tests would you suggest when buying a silk dress. Mrs. Stark expects to have one next summer. How will she be able to judge if it will wear?III. Can you make another middy at home. Perhaps you are so expert you can take an order for one.
II. What textile tests would you suggest when buying a silk dress. Mrs. Stark expects to have one next summer. How will she be able to judge if it will wear?
III. Can you make another middy at home. Perhaps you are so expert you can take an order for one.
Courtesy of Mr. R. J. Planten.Fig. 150.—The Ellen H. Richards house.
Courtesy of Mr. R. J. Planten.Fig. 150.—The Ellen H. Richards house.
Courtesy of Mr. R. J. Planten.
Fig. 150.—The Ellen H. Richards house.
You will be glad to know that all the townspeople in Pleasant Valley were delighted with the year's work in homemaking in the new schoolhouse. Mr. Roberts, the President of the Pleasant Valley Bank, was so pleased with the results both at school and in the homes of the valley that he gave the house that you seein the picture (Fig. 150), to be used for homemaking work by the girls, and for the boys' clubs as well. The house was named for Mrs. Ellen H. Richards, the great and good woman who lived in Boston, Massachusetts, but whose friends are found all over the world, and who helped to develop the teaching of home economics everywhere.
What are some of the facts about clothing and health that a girl may learn, useful to herself and her family?This is the question at the beginning of the first chapter. Do you not think that you can all give an answer to this question now? And would you not like to write a composition about it? Perhaps your teacher will have a gathering at the school of all the fathers and mothers; and maybe one of you can write a little play or pageant connected in some way with household arts for this closing party of the school year. Perhaps you are able now to design your costumes and make some of your garments or, at least, to select them more wisely.
And where is Pleasant Valley?Perhaps you asked this question when you looked at the picture on one of the first pages. Pleasant Valley is your own home town; and, though it has really quite another name, it may still be Pleasant Rivers, or Pleasant Hill, or Pleasant Fields, or Pleasant Plain. Why not? In this wide country of ours there are many forms of natural beauty; and even in the dry sections, where trees are grown with difficulty, there are still the far reaches of the plains and the beautiful effects of cloud, sunrise,and sunset. If our own town is ugly and unhealthy, it is not Nature's fault; for the beauty and home-likeness and the healthfulness of any place depend upon its inhabitants. Even the simplest and plainest village or countryside has one kind of beauty if it is kept perfectly clean, and it costs but little money in many places to plant trees and shrubs and keep the grass green.
You must see, however, that it is something more than beauty in the things about us that we have been studying together. You boys and girls in your school are to be the men and women who will make the homes and the town the best possible places for successful and happy living. Do you realize what it means to be citizens of a great commonwealth like this of our United States? Do you understand the meaning of the word "commonwealth"? It is a good old word that means a land where all the people share everything alike and work together for the good of all. We cannot succeed in doing this unless we begin in our home and in our home town. More and more must our country stand for democracy for ourselves and for the whole world, and you must bring to the problems of the future, bodies strong and clean, and strong hearts and minds.