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Show THINGS A WOM AM SHOULD KNOW WHEN SHOPPING How to Discover Adulteration of Cotton in Alleged Woolen Goods Planning An Economical Afternoon Dress To Test Wearing Qualities of Silk Materials By HELEN D. PURDY combined, provided only the colors aro the same. This may sometimes mean djcing ono left-over to match another or buying some new to match the old. Foulard is a silk with a fine-twill weave, practically the same silk that we once knew as surah. It is usually a printed figure, covering more or less tbo colored ground. As fashion has revived them extensively this year, there are many new and characteristic designs. I do not know any better test for silk's wearing quality than the very old-fashioned one of crushing it up in the hand, then smoothing out tho wrinkles. If they refuse to come out readily tho silk is likely to-cut, as it indicates harshness in the threads. There i3 not a great deal of the chemical chem-ical weighting of silk practiced now; silks so treated could not stand tho crushing or wringing process, not even tho sharply creasing between the thumb and flngir, with which some purchasers test it. It Is with the ubiquitous cotton tfiat silk Is made to be less than it seems. This mixture aud the short fibred yarns that will war rough are tho things to be considered con-sidered after using the crutdi or crease tests. Silk production is a most interesting in-teresting nature study, its bearing on the? woven fabric beginning with the difference between tb0 cultivated nnd cared-for silk worms and the uncultivated unculti-vated members of the same family who look out for themselves. The finest Filk comes from cocoons from which the chrysalis has cot yet emerged. The cocoon'is dropped into warm water to soften the gelatinous substance binding tbo tlirouds together, then carefully unwound. In long unbroken thrcal3. In less wcll-cared-for cocoons tho chrysalis comes to life and eats its way out, couiequeutly only short threads may be unwound, and these li ako an inferior yarn of short-length fibres. Many ve; ; pietty no?:. s!l!;j arc wov.'ii of these jdiort-fibn? yarns, a'id nuny att-actlvc fabrics are filk-and-cuitun mixtures that wo are 2'a,;I to buy at their proper price. The knowledge that can distinguish the different dif-ferent grades and mixtures is only necessary to protect the shopper against the retailer hero and there who has not yet realized that absolutely abso-lutely truthful representation of his goods is one of his most aluable trade assets. It is rarely, I might say never, necessary to wai n the consumer against tbo manufacturer who advertises adver-tises his goods directly. A confidential relation with the woman 6bopper is what ho Is spending money to establish, estab-lish, but should he prove not absolutely reliable, your magazlno stands as a protection to you for any false representations. repre-sentations. Cotton and Linen. Cottons sold as cottons depend most upon discriminating tasto In selection. Cotton foulards and cotton voiles aro made up on the same Hues generally as their silk and wool namesakes. Tho foulards have a silky finish and closely close-ly follow tbo silk designs. Cotton voile is proving a most satisfactory material, crisp and light and very much liked for summer costumes. There are many cotton fabrics intended for suitings that aro woven In close imitation, imita-tion, of popular linens and tussah3. Usually they are sold as cottons. H is when buying linens, sold as puro linen, that we must again watch for tho un-crcdKcd un-crcdKcd cotton thread. To an experienced experi-enced shopper there is a certain crlsp-ness crlsp-ness to the feel of linen, whose lack is quickly recognized if the fabric's purity is open to question. There are, to be sure, different grades of flax; here, tCo, short fibres win work out into a rough and fuzzy surface, when' smoothn-s3 and gloss are linen characteristics. char-acteristics. There is certain merit in t wet-llnocr test. Tho finger is Mi'blly moistened a" pressed, from underneath, closely up against the fabric; fa-bric; the moisture will quickly pass uite through pure linen. Fabric knowledge comes with experience experi-ence and familiarity with goods. There Is a certalu feeling to cottou-aud-wool-mixed cloth that makes us look for the cotton even when it Is skilfully concealed. con-cealed. The Infallible teat for this, of course, Is to unravel a thread two threads in fadcue in the cross-width nd ono ou the length. A woolen thread breaks w.'th an Irregular, fringy kind of severing of the fibres, while cotton makes a clean, crltp break. Even here we have to ronsider tome Of the processed cottons, which are liven a character more like silk, with l consequent softness that ibises out. ;ather than breaks. One way of Jn-Iroducing Jn-Iroducing cotton Into supposedly all-A-ool fabrics is by making a cotton toro lu each strand of yarn. The wool is twisted around the cotton, and of :ourso untwisting ami breaking a Ihrcad of this yarn reveals the cotton jentre. An old-tlmo te-t was to burn )ome of the threads. There is no ruis-Aklng ruis-Aklng the acrid odor of burning wool, ind its slow smouldering is quite dlf-.erent dlf-.erent from tho rapid flare-up and juiek consumption of cotton. This Jest, however, rnu;t of necessity be odcJuoted at home with a sample of ,he cloth. In all woolen eloth there to mauy degrees of quality to con- aider. The best Is made of long fibres, smoothly and evenly spun w ith no thin places in the thread. Holding the fabric fa-bric up and looking through it toward the light is a good way of Judging its wearing qualities. Thin places in the weaving are readily seen, and knotted and broken threads are quite apparent. There are colton-aud-wool mixtures, frankly woven and sold as such, that need not be despised when sold at a right price; but here, too, discretion and examination are In order. In, for example, the very popular mannish mixtures of several colors, be certain that the light not the dark threads are cotton, r-ls.i we shall have, after a little wear, rusty blacks aud dingy browns. What Good Silk Is. An afternoon dress may bo as economically planned as necessity demands. de-mands. It is distinctly a house dres, but of the kind that may be worn on the street, though cot as a walking dress. This ia a day-time gown, ia which we may indulge tho liking for the graceful nkl rt that comes well to the lloor or even trains a bit. It is in the,, afternoon fro-ks thai previous reasons' gowns may b? to well iit'.iiod, Thh ti a-on. Bio-n tlian c r l etore it would teen , diaerc-nt materials arc |