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Show Woman's World Protective Covers for Bedding Save Cleaning Time and Wear THERE was a time when you thought that only the finicky kousekeepers made protective cov-V cov-V erings for their bedding, but that's Hot so any more. Any woman who Is interested in saving on the cleaning clean-ing as well as the budget, as far as new bedding is concerned, will either buy or make the coverings for bed blankets, mattresses and pillows. pil-lows. Why aren't sheets and pillow cases enough? Because, not only does a certain amount of soiling go through this type of bedding, but there is a steady accumulation of dust which eventually will mean that you have to try to clean the bedding itself a difficult feat indeed. in-deed. There's no doubt about the wear and tear on the bedding, too, when you don't protect it, as it gets steady use. There's apt to be more pulling on pillow cases, for example, as you change and use them, if they don't have covers, and the same is true of mattresses. If you're interested in real cleanliness, clean-liness, of course, it's much easier to get it by frequent launderings of the mattress cover, pillow covers, mattress covers and blanket shields. Protective measures such as I've Just mentioned are absolute essentials essen-tials in dusty and sooty communi- Same your mattresses . . ties. And for the woman with active ohildren who like to engage in pillow pil-low fights occasionally, they're a must! Blanket Covers, Cuffs Uay be Decorative During the last few years there lias been more of a tendency to bring out the light-colored blankets. Naturally, these soil more readily than the old dark-colored ones, but they can be protected fairly well by what are known as blanket covers. cov-ers. Blanket covers are made as sheets and used on the bed while it is in a state of undress early in the morning, and when in use. Choose a fabric that does not slip off during Ibe night washable silk, cotton, faallis, rayon, crepe, sheer or muslin. mus-lin. Blanket covers do not take the place of a daytime spread, although some are lace trimmed or elaborately elab-orately monogrammed, but they are nice when the room is used in- at least save your blankets by making mak-ing cuffs for them. The cuff is intended in-tended for protecting the binding, which, as you know, usually wears out before the blanket. These cuffs are made 12 to 24 inches wide; they are attached to the blanket, but are easy to remove for frequent laundering. You may want to use the cuffs if the blanket binding is worn. Remove Re-move the binding at the bottom and finish with a blanket stitch. For the the top, use a cuff which matches the color of the blanket and stitch on with the same yarn as was used at the bottom. If you want to get fancy, make your cuffs of curtain material, and have it match those which you, used on the bedroom windows. Select Mattress Pads For Smooth Fit You may mak your own mattress pads out of bleached or unbleached muslin with a soft material inside for the padding. The important thing about them is the sleeping comfort they yield, as well as the soiling they keep of! the mattress itself. Mattress pads should fit very smoothly over the bed, and should be quilted flat and even so they do not roll up under the mattress. As to size, they should cover the whole bed and meet with the end of the mattress. Most of those you buy are about two inches smaller all the way around. This works out all right, provided the pad does not shrink too much in the washing. Incidentally, discarded pads are nice to use for making a good foundation foun-dation for the headboard of a bed, for valances or for foundations for slip-covered wooden chairs which have no upholstery. Old blankets are good to use for. the inside of a pad if you plan to! make them yourself. Cotton blank-! ets three or four used in a layer make an excellent inside of a pad when combined with a good quality, durable muslin. An easy way to do the quilting is with an attachment for the sewing sew-ing machine. Mattress Covers, Pillow Cases Of Muslin or Plastic Pillow cases and mattresses art difficult to clean, and for that reason reas-on it's important to take care of both with removable covers. Then these can be laundered several times a year, or once a month if your locality is a particularly sooty one. Fit and durability are the prime requisites for pillow covers and mattresses. Use material which is strong enough to withstand pulling on and oft the mattress or the pillow. pil-low. A good grade of muslin is a wise choice, some of the unbleached un-bleached types being particularly wear-resisting. Or, you may use some strong sheets as theses will enable you to solve the problem of fitting easily. Sheeting also may be used for covering the pillows, but it should be durable as that used for the mattress. In cases where there is a definite allergy to feathers or other materials mate-rials used in the bedding, plastic is a good choice. The plastic material should be of the heavier grade as it is important to have durability. Whether you buy them or make them, be sure that they fit well, as they give better wear as well as comfort. Zippers make the oest closings for both the pillows and mattresses, but ii they .prove too expensive, try i snap-on type of closing or even tie? placed at regular intervals. with quilted pads. formally, especially when you want to use the bed for laying things on. They are an excellent blanket protector. pro-tector. If you do not want to go to the expense of having blanket covers. |