Show woman s world check for special qualities before purchasing fabrics ry fu eit e artta it A chaleu E VERY woman ano does any sew ing of clothes at home has to have a lot of information at hand when she buys fabrics it s easy to decide about the color but jut it it s somewhat more difficult to judge color fastness serviceability dura ability and finish fortunately 1 many fabrics now are labeled as to their various charac te and that Is a valuable service its it s hard to judge certain things merely by seeing price Is not a guide to quality tor for these special attributes which you look tor for are hidden in the con construe tion dyeing and finish look tor for the label first or ask the salesperson it if you want something specific an most good textile manufacturers have testing laboratories which fur nish the information given you on labels these are scientifically I 1 proved roved facts and you can rely on ahem em as the manufacturer wants fou ou to treat the material according ly for best wear choose washable material to avoid dry cleaning there are certain garments which soil easily and which will have to be laundered frequently wouldn t it be impractical to choose a fabric which Is labeled dry clean only if you are using the dress constantly and whose cleaning bills would put the budget out of kilter children s clothing for everyday use men mens s shirts lingerie and dra pery materials preferably should be washable it if you greatly desire a fabric with a particularly dramatic weave rt select water repellant fabrics color or finish and find it dry cleans only then make it up into a gar ment which you will wear less fre firm weave Is sign of good quality there s one rule which applies to the purchase of every fabric whether it is ready made or by the yard no matter what the weave or what the purpose for the fabric it should have a firm arm weave closely woven fabrics keep their shape bet ter and give longer wear they have less tendency to shrink and pull at the seams even if the fabric has an open weave see that it is firm if it is open too much it s apt to be sleazy before you get the garment put to gether judge the f firmness by holding the material to light it if the yarns are evenly spaced this is a good sign it if you can pull the yarns apart easily and shift them around there will be danger of pulling at the 4 and firm weaves for seams or of the fabric becoming puffy sometimes you can judge firm ness by the way the material trays frays an easily fraying material Is apt to be rather loose and you will have to put a special finish on the seams to keep it from pulling apart some weaves resist soiling and wrinkling when a fabric is smooth and glossy it Is less apt to soil rayon satin taffeta and moire will soil less than the mossy crepes or nubby weaves or if you are interested in sporting dresses select sharks shark hm shin in preference to twill for example in suit fabrics the regular suiting ma tenal keeps clean better than tweed in dresses the knitted fabrics tend to resist both soiling and wrinkling if you are buying knitted fabrics for underwear check to see if the garment is run resistant or run proof bun run proof means that the stitches are locked and cannot run at all while run resistant means that the garment can run only in one direction for dress up clothes satins as well as variations of satin crepe velvet and chiffon will give the proper note of luxuriousness you 16 head Int interest erelt 40 the romantic roses which bedeck cyrille mills pillbox of moss green nylon tulle show the trend of hats to have side interest the handmade silk roses range from the palest pink to fuchsia wish to achieve these fabrics also have excellent draping qualities and rich true colors that will set you off properly very chepey crepes with mossy or pebbly effects also are good for more formal dress all of these materials are to be avoided however if you are looking for in the case of the pebbly woven crepe for instance highly twisted yarns must be used to get that effect and you can un der stand why this would not stand washing special finishes give extra service if you are looking for crispness in material such as organdie ask if it is permanent will it last through washing or dry cleaning some finishes stabilize shrinkage and this is important if you are making a garment that is rather fitted there Is no such thing as a greaseproof crease proof finish but there are some fabrics which are crease re distant and this is a big help it will tend to wrinkle less readily and most of the time the wrinkles win will fall out when the fabric is hung up for a few hours water repellant finishes are im on children s clothing such as sports jackets raincoats and outdoor wear some of these are durable finishes and last through several washings or cleanings oth ers can be re applied by the dry cleaner if you want a watered effect in a fabric such as moire you 11 find that steam or water will destroy it in this case avoid water spotting or steam pressing if you want to be certain of a per manent moire finish ask tor for acetate moire this will not be destroyed in pressing or water spotting most fabrics now are made of fast colors but it s always wise to check this either by label or other wise it if you cannot find out wash a small piece of fabric before it is sewed to find out definitely |