Worn In, The Counterintuitive Perfection of Used Textiles

“ The towel need not be so coarse as the kitchen "round" one, from which it is copied; and above all things do not have it hard. It is a needless addition to the unavoidable miseries of life to be obliged to dry your hands in a hurry on a new huckaback towel.
Many charming basin-stands have I seen extemporised out of even a shelf in a corner; but such contrivances are perhaps too much of makeshifts to entitle them to mention here, only one hint would I give. Take care that your washing-stand is sufficiently low to enable you to use it with comfort. ”

“ They hold in every particle of perspiration and poisonous gas thrown off by the skin, and if worn constantly, make it pale, weak, and flabby; and the moment we take them off, we take cold.
For outer garments and general wear, nothing yet has been discovered equal to wool, particularly at the cooler times of the year. But for under wear, in the hotter seasons and climates, wool has certain disadvantages. It is likely to be rough and tickling to most skins, which makes it uncomfortable, especially in warm weather. ”

“ For many persons, cotton and linen are found to be more restful, for night wear, than garments made of wool. Even when woolen underclothing is worn with comfort and satisfaction during the day, there is, to some persons, a pricking sensation, a slight surface irritation, in the use of woolen night wear which is destructive of rest. The activities of the skin, as well as the other bodily functions, require a measure of repose. ”

“ The portmanteau will always be full, so take only what is absolutely necessary, otherwise you will find that some important thing has been left behind, and a useless appendage brought only to occupy valuable space, and be thrown away in disgust. Always carry soap and a towel. They are sometimes hard to find, and oftener so bad that one goes dirty rather than use them. Then, too, a good wash by a stream is only satisfactory when soap and towel are at hand. If you have been compelled to repair a puncture by the way, such a wash with soap and towel is everything. ”

“ I had two pans, one half-filled with soapy, the other with clear water, and having given my dainty dishes a bath in the first I treated them to a dip in the second, afterward letting them drain for a moment on the tray at my right hand. Veva and Marjorie wiped the silver and glass with the soft linen towels which are kept for these only; next I took my plates, then the platters, and finally the knives. Just as we finished the last dish I heard grandmother's tap, tap on the floor over my head.
There's an art in everything, even in washing dishes. ”

“ The use of the flesh-brush, after a thorough rub down with towels, is to be commended for producing a more vigorous reaction; there are many persons, however, whose skins are too delicate to allow of the application of the flesh-brush, but this is of little moment, as a moderately 14rough towel will with them produce as strong a reaction, or as great a glow, as the flesh-brush would with those possessing less sensitive skins. ”

“ Woolen cloth coming from the loom may be so [Pg 84] treated in the finishing room as to produce fabrics entirely different in appearance. One of the chief objects of the finishing is to give to the cloth as fine an appearance as possible to attract the buyer. Much of the fine finish disappears through wear, especially with inferior goods made from poor materials. The wearing quality of the goods is primarily dependent upon the strength and quality of the fibers of which it is made, so that the yarn of the filling and the warp should be examined when selecting materials. ”

“ The machine-made cloths of this day and generation do not last a lifetime, or sixty years, or even twenty-five years, either in the United States or in Europe. The fabrics which so excited his admiration were the homespun products of hand manufacture. It is true that they had great endurance, and this quality they secured at the sacrifice of lightness and compactness. Heavy cloths of the homespun characteristics are not now made by machinery, because the people prefer lighter fabrics, even though they wear out quickly. ”

“ The intricacies of its manipulation are unending. They commence with the purchase of the wool itself. The variations of the fiber in quality and character and condition are almost infinite. Particular fabrics can only be produced from particular wools. The successful blending of the fiber preliminary to manufacture is an art in itself. Both the dye-house and the loom-room are schools of art, where the successful manufacturer must feel the pulse of the popular taste, and learn to minister to its whims and caprices. ”

“ The most common criticisms are that they are heavy, less cleanly than linen, and they sometimes produce irritation. For an equal weight, wool is the warmest of all dress materials. For summer wear, only that which is thin, light, and loose in web is usually chosen. Light flannel suits have become very fashionable for summer outing, both for men and women.
Woolen undergarments rapidly absorb the excretions from the skin. The water soon evaporates, but the more solid portions are held in the fibers of the garment. Woolen underwear should be washed as frequently as that of cotton, linen, or silk. ”

“ In this we only copy the lower animals which, being exposed to great alternations of temperature, have a loose open fleece or hairy covering; so a loose, open-wove porous material makes the warmest garment. Hence knitted underclothing and fleecy or thick soft cloth for outer wear are cosiest, though it must be admitted not in all cases the most durable. The warmth of the dress depends, too, on the way it is manufactured. ”

“ Second, they should be thick enough to protect us from cold, and yet at the same {180}time porous enough not to interfere with the natural breathing and ventilating of the skin. A garment should be as loose as possible without interfering with our movements, and as free and as light as can be worn with reasonable warmth and protection. The less clothing you can wear and be comfortable, the better. ”

“ It saves washing and is more healthful to use flannel shirts. Farmers, sailors, and soldiers have found by experience that they are more comfortable than cotton or linen, even in the hottest days. Many gentlemen use them for common wear, changing to a cotton-flannel night-gown for sleeping. So young children can have a flannel jacket and flannel drawers sewed to the jacket in front, and buttoned behind, and change them at night for cotton-flannel made in the same way. The under-garments for women may be made of the same material and pattern, and this will save washing and promote health. ”

“ One does not associate thick materials with great heat, and the mere look of thick wool [Pg 58] would make one begin to feel hot, however foolish it may sound to say so. When the skin becomes used to wearing wool it will be found more comfortable than either cotton or linen, and we, moreover, avoid the chance of chills after being over-heated. I know several people who date their almost perfect immunity from colds to the use of woollen underclothing, who previously had been martyrs to colds and coughs, and had been constantly imprisoned in the house during quite mild seasons. ”

“ To perfectly satisfy this demand, we should have a weaving which is not only in itself an artistic manufacture, but which easily absorbs any additional application of art.
In my own mind I call the thing which [115] might and does not exist, The Missing Textile. To make it entirely appropriate to our esthetic and practical needs, the missing textile must be strong enough for every-day wear and use; it must be capable of soft, round folds in hanging; and have the quality of elasticity which will prevent creasing; and above all, it must have beautiful and lasting colour. ”

“ In a long and intimate acquaintance with what are called “art textiles”—that is, textiles which satisfy the eye and the imagination and fulfill more or less competently the function of use, I have learned that certain very desirable qualities are more often found in home-woven than in machine-woven goods. Something is wanting in each of the excellent and wonderful variety of commercial manufactures which would fit it for the various decorative and art processes which modern life demands. ”

“ It is a mistake to wear wool next the skin in hot countries, for it soon gets sodden with perspiration and is irritating. A light flannel shirt worn over the open cotton mesh is probably the best arrangement though a mixture of wool and cotton may be employed for the shirting. This question is fully dealt with in ‘Hints on Outfit.’ It is particularly important to avoid sudden changes of temperature, and if exposed to the cooling sea breeze, special care must be taken as to proper clothing. ”

“ Why do people who sleep under down, or even under silk or cotton quilts, frequently rise unrefreshed? From the one cause: their coverings have impeded the passage of the insensible perspiration, and so have hindered the skin in its function of relieving the blood of impurities. It is surprising what a constant loss of vitality many people experience from no other cause than the unsuitable character of their clothing. The children cannot be better dressed throughout than in loosely woven woollen garments, flannels and serges, of varying thicknesses for summer and winter wear. ”

“ It hung like a pall on the wall of the washroom,
And gathered the grime of the linotype crew.
The sink and the soap and the lye that stood by it
Remain; but the towel is gone past recall.
O tempora! Also, O mores! Sic transit
The time-honored towel that creaked on the wall.
The grimy old towel, the slimy old towel,
The tacky old towel that hung on the wall.
Now hangs in the washroom a huge roll of paper—
The old printer’s towel we’ll never see more.
The new (see directions) is “used like a blotter,”
And crumpled and scattered in wads on the floor. ”

“ I don't like a single dish or utensil in sight when the kitchen is in order. This roll of paper toweling here by the sink is very convenient for wiping off the table or taking grease off pans and dishes or even for drying glass and silver. A roll lasts a long time, and certainly does save dishcloths and towels.
"Do you use your fireless cooker often?"
"Every day of the year—I do believe. I cook breakfast food in it, and all kinds of meats except those that are boiled or fried. Then it is splendid for steaming brown bread and baking beans, and oh, so many other things! ”

“ For this reason, while we want beautiful garments, we distinctly do not want durable ones. In your day, it seems, even worse than the practice of washing garments to be used again you were in the habit of keeping your outer garments without washing at all, not only day after day, but week after week, year after year, sometimes whole lifetimes, when they were specially valuable, and finally, perhaps, giving them away to others. It seems that women sometimes kept their wedding dresses long enough for their daughters to wear at their weddings. ”

“ And lastly, there is Trade Influence, which invariably makes itself felt, and depends for its success on the first principle—imitation.
It is to the advantage of that large section of the people who make their livelihood by supplying the rest of the world with clothes, that fashions should change quickly, so that new clothes may be bought before the old have been worn out, because the latter have become outré. On the part of some people there is a constant demand for novelty ”

“ It might be added, too, that the changes in fashions were greatly fomented and assisted by the self-interest of vast industrial and commercial interests engaged in purveying the materials of dress and personal belongings. Every change, by creating a demand for new materials and rendering those in use obsolete, was what we called good for trade, though if tradesmen were unlucky enough to be caught by a sudden change of fashion with a lot of goods on hand it meant ruin to them. Great losses of this sort, indeed, attended every change in fashion. ”

“ On the other hand, the imported goods within the reach of the poor, though gay, and of brilliant colors, are too often of the most flimsy texture, and melt away from about the persons of the wearers almost like vapor. The two classes of peasants view each other with secret contempt; but the old fashion is rapidly dying out because it is old, while the new chiefly triumphs perhaps because it is new. ”

“ Here consumption is much more whimsical, but when we look closer we see that this really proceeds much less from the purchasing individual than from the industry itself. Changes in fashion, for example, spring not so much from the changes in taste of the public as from the necessity of the producer to render impossible of further use the old wares which have already been sold, in order to thereby appeal to consumers to purchase new wares. The new and modern goods must accordingly be very strikingly distinguished from the old. ”

“ If the tablecloth is clean enough for the home folks, it is all right for company. Don’t try to cook a variety of dishes each day. You won’t hold out so well, and one or two will do as well, and change them every day. Sheets, towels and some other things can be used all right without ironing. ”

“ It is a habit that is harder to conquer than almost any other. The most ample supply of holders may be provided, yet the mistress seldom enters the kitchen but she sees the nice crash towel caught up to remove a boiling pot from the stove, or a gridiron from the fire, and if it is not tossed into the sink, scorched and smeared, it is a marvel. ”

“ Greasy dishcloths and sour towels are neither neat nor wholesome and are a most fertile source of germs, often breeding disease and death. After each dish washing, the dishcloth, towels, and mops should be thoroughly washed in hot water with plenty of soap, well rinsed and hung up to dry either upon a line out of doors or a rack made for the purpose near the kitchen range. If care is always taken to clean the dishes as much as possible before washing and to change the suds as often as they become dirty, the towels will not be hard to keep clean and sweet-smelling. ”

“ Some persons have their towels washed out every day, but it is better to save them for the weekly wash. If towels are thrown aside damp, they are liable to mildew. You should keep dusters of several kinds. Old silk handkerchiefs, are best for highly polished furniture, or an old barege veil answers a good purpose. For common purposes, a square of coarse muslin, or check is suitable. You should keep one floor cloth for chambers, and one for the kitchen. Keep brooms for different purposes; always use a soft one for carpets, as soon as they wear stiff, they will do for the kitchen, or pavements. ”

“ A strict watch has to be kept on the table-napkins, or they are sure to be carried to the kitchen and pressed into the dirtiest of service as dish-cloths, lamp-cleaners, etc. However many kitchen-cloths and dusters may have been given out, you never find one which is fit to touch; nor, until experience has taught you to keep the paraffin and its attendant rags under lock and key, and yourself to superintend the cleaning and filling of the lamps, is there one cloth which does not communicate the smell and flavour of the oil to every plate, cup, and glass brought to table. ”