RE: [h-cost] ironing washed linen--warning
My grandmother did the dampen and chill method for ironing the cotton muslin curtains in our house. She made them for every room, including the mile-a-minute crochet lace to go on them. After she got too old to do it, my mother took up the tradition. Me, I barely have curtains at all, and the ones I do are not the ironing kind. I always thought they did it because they couldn't get to the whole stack of curtains at once, so putting them in the refrigerator kept any chance of mildewing from happening. (We didn't have AC at that time) That, and having the fabric uniformly damp was faster and easier than refilling the water reservoir on the iron all the time. Just now, I found this on the web- begin This is quoted from the book Laundry by Robert Doyle- he founded the wardrobe dept of a live theater and also was one of the first instructors at Costume Studies at Dalhousie University. He gives the reason for chilling the fabrics. after drying, garments to be ironed are best sprinkled with warm water to dampen them thoroughly, then each garment rolled up into a tight ball, placing each into a plastic bag and into the refrigerator for a couple of hours so that the items are thoroughly dampened and chilled. then with a dry iron, set at the cotton setting, proceed to iron out the wrinkles ... the dampened and chilled garments will iron more efficiently since the iron glides effortlessly over the chilled fabric. He also writes that heavier irons work better than lightweight ones and that a dry iron with a mist bottle works better than a steam iron. This is on cotton and linen fabrics. end So, still no date or ah ha moment, but one can deduce that the practice must have started sometime after refrigerators became common household appliances. It would not have been mentioned in a book in 1894 because people were still using actual ice boxes at that time, which really weren't big enough to toss in sheets and such! At least that's my theory, YMMV. :D (Interesting info on the history of refrigerators, here: http://www.history.com/exhibits/modern/fridge.html) ::Linda:: -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Penny Ladnier Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2007 1:20 AM I am wondering where the cooling the linen before ironing originated. Some of you mentioned that your mothers taught you to do this. It makes me wonder if this method was something that was passed down through the generations. I checked in my 1894 Cole's Dictionary of Dry Goods and cooling the linen is not mentioned. Penny Ladnier, ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] ironing washed linen--warning
Yeah, in my house it was a timing thing. Mom would was laundry while we were at school, but wouldn't iron with 4 kids between 5-11 running around the house. And then it was time to start dinner, then dinnertime, dishes (my job as the oldest), homework and she was done for the day. She had to put the ironing in the refrigerator or she was afraid of that moldy smell and that the wrinkles would set. It didn't have anything to do with cooling the linen (or cotton). I learned a few years ago - here - about ice crystals breaking down the linen threads to make it softer. As a matter of fact, my mother-in-law, raising her kids in Montana and Utah, swears that hanging out the diapers in the snow and the frost would soften the diapers and freeze out any stains. LynnD On 8/15/07, Wanda Pease [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I am wondering where the cooling the linen before ironing originated. Some of you mentioned that your mothers taught you to do this. It makes me wonder if this method was something that was passed down through the generations. I checked in my 1894 Cole's Dictionary of Dry Goods and cooling the linen is not mentioned. Penny Ladnier, Actually my mother used to put things in the refrigerator or freezer in order to keep them from developing mildew before she got around to ironing them. She had a full time job as a Hospital pharmacist and clothing could be washed on one Saturday and ironed when she had the time and energy to do so. Wanda ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] ironing washed linen--warning
Please be warned--ironing wet or even just damp linen stretches it out a LOT. This can have all sorts of annoying effects if you plan to make/have made a fitted or supportive garment out of it, or if it's being used as a lining for wool, or if you don't want to have to iron the garment EVERY SINGLE TIME before wearing it to keep the seams from puckering horribly. Voice of experience, in case you couldn't tell... -E House ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] ironing washed linen--warning
An interesting topic today... I ran into a problem today with a linen mix dress. I have a cotton / linen blend off-white dress that I had not worn in a couple of years. I was cleaning out my closet and noticed the dress had turned a dark tea color. I took the dress to the dry cleaners today and they said that they could not get the tea color out. She stated the reason this happened was because of the hot temperatures in my closet. Last week we had 100 degree temperatures and my closet has two exterior walls. I opened my closet door and the air was really hot. So I started leaving the closet door open on hot days to let the air conditioning get into the closet. Tonight, I washed the dress with hot water, Shave shampoo, and a little bleach. To get rid of the bleach in the fabric, I rinsed it several times in clear water. The dress color is now its natural off-white! YEA! I am going to try the refrigerator trick to see how it works on this dress. BTW, I have found that Shave shampoo is gentle enough to wash white delicate natural fabrics. I have been using Shave for the past year and it works wonders! I am wondering where the cooling the linen before ironing originated. Some of you mentioned that your mothers taught you to do this. It makes me wonder if this method was something that was passed down through the generations. I checked in my 1894 Cole's Dictionary of Dry Goods and cooling the linen is not mentioned. Penny Ladnier, Owner, The Costume Gallery Websites www.costumegallery.com www.costumelibrary.com www.costumeclassroom.com www.costumeencyclopedia.com ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
RE: [h-cost] ironing washed linen--warning
I am wondering where the cooling the linen before ironing originated. Some of you mentioned that your mothers taught you to do this. It makes me wonder if this method was something that was passed down through the generations. I checked in my 1894 Cole's Dictionary of Dry Goods and cooling the linen is not mentioned. Penny Ladnier, Actually my mother used to put things in the refrigerator or freezer in order to keep them from developing mildew before she got around to ironing them. She had a full time job as a Hospital pharmacist and clothing could be washed on one Saturday and ironed when she had the time and energy to do so. Wanda ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
