CLOTHES OF ODD MATERIALS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 107, 13 August 1910, Page 10

CLOTHES OF ODD MATERIALS.

The Russians maim lac lure a fabric from the fibre of a irlumeivlous .stone from the Siberian mines, which is said to be of so durable a nature that it is practically indestructible. The material is soft to the touch and pliable iu the extreme, and when soiled has only to be placed in a Jive to be made absolutely clean.

[ Iron cloth is largely used to-day by tailors everywhere, for the purpose of I making the collars of coats set properly. This cloth is manufactured from steel wool and has the appearance of having been woven from horsehair. | Wool not the product of sheep is being utilised for the making of men's clothing. This is known as "limestone wool," and is made in an electric furnace. Powdered limestone, mixed with certain chemicals, is thrown into the furnace, and, after passing through a furious air blast, it is tossed out as fluffy white wool. When it comes from the furnace the wool is dyed and made into lengths like cloth. A pair of trousers or a coat made of this material cannot, it is claimed, be burned or damaged by grease, and is as flexible as cloth made of sheep's wool. An English manufacturer has succeeded in making a fabric from old ropes. He obtained a quantity of old rope and cordage, unravelled it, and wove it by a secret process into a kind of rough cloth. The resultant material he dyed a dark brown. A suit of clothes made from this, queer stuff was worn by the manufacturer himself, and it is said that he has a large trade in this line in the British colonies.

A novelty in dress material for women is spunglass cloth, which may, it is said, be had in white, green, lilac, pink and yellow shades. The inventor of this fabric was an Austrian, and his invention is said te 'have resulted in the production of a material as bright and flexible as silk. The first lady to wear a gown of this material was of Royal rank. It was of a very delicate shade of pale lavender shot with pink, and its peculiar sheen reminded her admirers of the sparkle of diamond dust. Paper clothes were worn by the Japanese troops, who found them very serviceable and much warmer than those of cloth. Paper dressing-gowns, bathrobes, and similar articles of attire ate now being turned out by the car-load in England, Prance, Germany, and other European countries. The paper whereof they are made is of the "blotting" variety, and after being treated by a new process is dyed in various colors or printed with a pretty floral design. Even gloves are made of paper, the principal claim to advantage being that they are susceptible of being cleaned many times.