Tumps of Sugar

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 661, 13 May 1929, Page 5

Tumps of Sugar

HOUSEWIVES ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SHORTCUT METHODS IN THE HOME SHOULD REMEMBER THE HUMBLE LUMP OF SUGAR. 1 A lump of sugar dissolved in the final rinsing water makes lace or fine muslin just sufficiently stiff. Placed in the teapot you are about to put away, a lump of sugar will pre- / vent it giving off a mouldy taste when j you use it again. A lump of sugar dissolved in your j liquid stove polish will give the metal | a brilliant shine with about half the : labour usually necessary. And the j stove will retain its lustre longer. Dissolve a lump of sugar in the ; water when washing linoleum and oilI cloth; it will secure a brilliant and J lasting polish. If the floor-covering jis getting the worse for wear, the I sugar will brighten the dingy parts. When washing cane, wicker, and j bamboo furniture, a lump of sugar in j the water will be found excellent for making the pieces look new, and it will prevent creaking in the joints of I basket chairs. A lump of sugar added to the cold tea used for cleaning black walnut ; and oak furniture, picture frames and mirror mouldings, will impart a rich ! and lasting gloss to the wood, and i prevent unsightly tarnish marks. i Add a lump of sugar to the juice of i a lemon when cleaning tiles and glazed | bricks; it will remove dirt and stains | almost with a touch, and give a rich j brilliance that will last fo.r several ! days without further attention.

WHEN CHILDREN OUTGROW THEIR CLOTHES It is a distressing moment wlien the mother of moderate means is confronted by the fact that a number of perfectly good garments are no longer suitable for wear by her growing children. There are, however, methods by which an apparently inadequate garment can be coaxed into doing service for an appreciable time, proi vided a little thought and a small j amount of fresh material be brought i to bear upon it. ; In the case of a frock that has j suddenly become too narrow across j ; the chest, the ruse is to line the j front with a strip of firm muslin or tailor’s canvas-, and, having in this way ruled out the risk of the fabric’s stretching, cut it boldly down the centre. This done, the two raw edges should be sloped away in a pretty line, to meet the shoulder seam at the neck, and bound with braid. To let in a vest or a full-length inset of fancy ribbon or figured silk is the next stage in the renovation. Sleeves that have unexpectedly become too short or too tight can be brought into line by being cut off above the elbow, slit up for a depth of some four or five inches, and similarly bound round the sloped edges. The slit can then be filled in with material to match the front arrangement. A false hem solves the difficulty of a too-shorl skirt. Another method of coping with this is to add a double band of contrasting material, either hemstitching it on or simply machining it. A straight up-and-down dress that has become over-tight round the hips should be undone at the side seams, when a, broad hand of trimming may be stitched neatly*to the two sides to allow extra play. Tight armholes can be eased by applying a similar system to the shoulder seams.