Robin wrote: I believe milk was used to darken, not lighten the lace. Milk is used to brown crusts on baked goods and can be used like lemon juice as an "invisible ink" that appears when heated. The speaker (in the book) also compares using milk to make the lace "cream" instead of the darker "yellow" from using tea/coffee.
I'm sure this is right. Bear in mind that by the mid 19th century cheap machine-made lace was readily available. It was cotton and very white. So to show that you were wearing old, handmade lace (like Mrs Forrester) it was important that it looked like antique linen. Bridget, in Pinner, Middlesex. - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]
