The workwoman's guide

It is very bad economy to purchase, for articles of clothing, cheap bargains. They generally consist of damaged goods, or are otherwise inferior in their quality, as it stands to reason that no mercer would feel inclined to sell his stock at a lower rate than its worth.

The only parts of dress which it may be sometimes advisable to purchase at a cheap rate, are gloves, ribbons, and such articles as are easily soiled long before being worn out, and cannot well be cleaned: in large towns and dirty neighbourhoods they are soon discoloured, and therefore their durability is of little consequence.

Linens, calicoes, woollens, prints, &c., should be carefully chosen from the best, as they are in constant wash and wear, and would soon become worn and threadbare if not good and strong. Two sets of good linen will wear out three or four sets of inferior, which, when the expense of making up is considered, becomes, in its turn, far more expensive, besides the extra trouble and time, both of which are well worth saving.

Observe that the cloth is the proper width for the articles wanted, so as to cut out to the best advantage. Much waste may arise from its being one nail too wide or too narrow. Take notice that the selvages, and also the threads, are even and good both ways.

CALICO.

Observe that it is free from dress, which is a preparation of lime employed by the manufacturers to make it of a better colour, as, if (as is often the case) the dressing is too high in proportion to the strength of the threads, it becomes rotten, tears, and wears badly, and after washing, is poor and thin, like canvass; choose your calico, therefore, undressed, for then you can more exactly judge of its quality and strength. It should be soft, without specks, and the threads and selvages even. It is often cheaper to buy the whole piece, if much is wanted, as a small allowance is made per yard. If a small quantity is wanted for a baby’s caps, shirts, &c., it is often good economy to purchase remnants, fencings, or felts, by which means you sometimes get the best qualities for very low prices. Calico runs of various widths and qualities: the unbleached, or grey, is the best for shifts, boys’ shirts, &c., for the lower orders, being warmer and stronger than the white.

The following are the useful widths, with the general prices at the present time, though, of course, they are constantly varying.

Unbleached calico, from 13 nails wide to 2 yards 4 nails, price from 4d. to 1s. 6d.

Fine white calico for caps, aprons, &c., from 12 nails upwards to 1½ yard, price from 4d. upwards.

Stout calico, from 14 nails upwards to 3 yards wide, price from 8d. to 3s.

LINEN.

The Suffolk hemp is considered the best. The threads should be particularly even. The useful widths are from 13¼ nails to 16, for shirting. The common linen is sometimes as low as 8d. or 9½d. per yard, and the best at 2s. 9d. or 3s. Linen should be scalded before it is cut out and made up, as it is too stiff to allow of its being sewn with ease.

LAWN.

Lawn is merely a finer quality of linen, and is sometimes used for the fronts of gentlemen’s shirts, also for babies’ night-caps, shirts, frilling, &c. Its width varies from 13 nails upwards, and the price from about 4s. to 8s.

CAMBRIC.

Cambric is a finer sort of lawn. Its width is about three-quarters of a yard, and the price from 4s. to 12s.

MUSLIN CHECKS.

The small check which is used for caps generally wears the best. Observe that the thin places between the checks are good, and the threads even. They are generally 1¼ yard wide, and from 9d. to 20d. or 2s. per yard.

BLUE CHECKS.

This is very serviceable for aprons, and should be entirely linen, if wanted to wear well. It runs from 1 yard wide to 1¼ yard, and is from 3d. to 16d. per yard.

The cotton check answers very well for children’s pinbefores, though not nearly so durable as the other. It is of various widths, and from 6d. to 1s. per yard.

PRINTS, CHINTZES, AND GINGHAMS.

These often wash very badly: if, therefore, you are buying a doubtful colour, it would be advisable to beg a piece as a pattern, and wash half of it, which, when compared with the other half, will shew at once whether the colours are fixed or not. They are better when the pattern is the same on both sides.

Dark and light blue, lilac, buff, bright brown, red, and pink are good wearing colours.

Green, chocolate, and violet are very fading colours. They vary in price from 3d. to 10d., or even 1s. The usual width for gowns is 11 nails. The width sold for aprons is 14 nails.

FLANNELS.

The Welsh is far superior to the Lancashire, and both washes and wears better; the latter is, however, cheaper. It is generally of a yellowish colour, while the Welsh is more of a blue grey.

Purchasing large quantities at the fairs at Welsh-Pool, Newtown, and other Welsh markets, is good economy, as several yards are often given in to the hundred. The common flannels for petticoats are 9d. to 14d. per yard, and the finer upwards, to 2s. or 3s. 8d.: they vary in width from 9 nails to 16. New flannel should be plunged in scalding water, and hung out to dry without wringing.

CLOTH.

Cloth should be smooth, with a good nap.

STUFFS.

Observe that they are evenly dyed, as they are often dashed. Hold them up to the light, that you may better judge of their quality. The black dye is apt to decay the stuff. Brown and dark green are particularly good wearing colours. Width from ½ and ¾ yard, upwards. Price from 8d. to 2s.

CRAPE.

Crape is often dashed and spotted, as it is a difficult article to take dye evenly. Have it spread over white before buying it, when you can more easily detect blemishes. The width is 1 yard, and the price 2s. to 4s. 6d.

SATIN.

It should be soft and thick, unless for trimming caps, when a poorer kind may be used. When wanted for trimmings, satin should be cut crosswise.—(See the end of Chapter III.) It is from ½ yard to 10 nails wide, and from 2s. 6d. to 7s. 6d.

SILKS.

Should not be too stiff, thin, or papery, as they are apt to tear or slit in the plaits and folds. See that they are soft, without specks or stains; and, as silk dresses turn well, and even dye afterwards, it would be advisable to have no wrong side—that is, the pattern equally good on both sides. They are generally ½ yard wide, though black silk of 1 yard in width can be bought for aprons.

In cheap silks, a kind of camel’s hair is frequently woven to make them appear richer and thicker to the touch, but this is highly injurious to the silk, as it causes it to wear very ill, and cut in all the folds and creases. The way to detect the existence of camel hair in silks, is to take a little bit in the hand and pull it gently cross-way, and if there be any camel hair interwoven with the silk it will spring back as if elastic, making a soft kind of whistling sound.