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Show Woman's World Check for Special Qualities Before Purchasing Fabrics lrlla ya ley p'VERY woman wno does any sew lng 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 it's somewhat more difficult to Judge color fastness, serviceability, durability dura-bility and finish. Fortunately many fabrics now are labeled as to their various characteristics, charac-teristics, and that is a valuable service. It's hard to judge certain things merely by seeing. Price Is not a guide to quality, for these special attributes which you look for, are hidden In the construction, construc-tion, dyeing and finish. Look for the label first, or ask the salesperson if you want something specific answered. an-swered. Most good textile manufacturers have testing laboratories which furnish fur-nish the information given you on labels. These are scientifically proved facts and you can rely on them as the manufacturer wants you to treat the material accordingly 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's shirts, lingerie and drapery dra-pery materials preferably should be washable. If you greatly desire a fabric with particularly dramatic weave, wish to achieve. These fabrics also have excellent draping qualities and rich, true colors that will set you off properly. Very crepey 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 washability. In the case of the pebbly-woven crepe, for instance, highly twisted yarns must be used to get that effect, and you can understand un-derstand 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 crease-proof finish, but there are some fabrics which are crease-resistant and this is a big help. It will tend to wrinkle less readily, and most of the time, the wrinkles will fall out when the fabric is hung up for a few hours. Water-repellant finishes are important im-portant 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. Others Oth-ers can be re-applied by the dry cleaner. If you want a watered effect in a fabric such as moire, you'll 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 permanent per-manent moire finish, ask 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 otherwise. other-wise. If you cannot find out, wash a small piece of fabric before it if sewed to find out definitely. Select water-repellant fabrics . . color or finish and find it dry cleans I only, then make it up into a gar-' gar-' ment which you will wear less frequently. fre-quently. 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 weave. Closely woven fabrics keep their shape better 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 together. to-gether. Judge the firmness by holding the material to light. If the yarns are evenly spaced, this is a good sign. If you can pull the yarns apart easily and shift them around, there will be danger of pulling at the PLAIN OR FANCY What is smarter than a smart cotton cot-ton dress, even if you are wearing it Informally at home? You'll like poplin, pop-lin, especially for its excellent texture tex-ture and easy launderability. If you want to fancy up the cottons, then you'll hke the idea of adding quilting quilt-ing to the jacket of a new, long skirt, COLORFUL WARDROBE Gay, clear colors are good this season, and they do wonderful things for the wardrobe as well as the wearer. These look well under furs as well as as untrimmed coats. And firm weaves for treatability, j seams, or of the fabric becoming puffy. Sometimes you can judge firmness firm-ness by the way the material 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 sharkshin in preference to twill, for example. In suit fabrics, the regular suiting material ma-terial 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. run-proof. 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 |
