To a cup of strong tea, add one-half teaspoonful of gum Arabic. Dip the
lace into the liquid, and squeeze it dry, two or three times (do not
wring). Roll in a cloth and when almost dry, straighten out all the
scallops carefully by hand, being careful to have it of universal width,
and place on a soft cloth or padded board and lay a piece of muslin over
it, then iron until dry. This is suitable for ordinary lace. But real
lace should be pinned or tacked to a board, being careful to draw out
all loops of the edge, and not drag the lace out of shape.
All stains and spots should be removed as soon as possible. Ink stains
may be taken out of clothing by dipping the spot in milk, and squeezing
the blackened milk into a basin, dipping in clear milk again. Repeat
this process until the ink stain has entirely disappeared; then wash the
cloth in warm water, to remove the fat in the milk.
Some inks are very difficult to remove but with a little patience, one
of the processes will remove any ink stain.
To remove grease spots from delicate fabrics, requires great care. When
the color and fabric will not be injured, use the cleaning fluid.
Otherwise use French chalk or magnesia powder. Place upon the spots,
allow to remain for a short time. This will often absorb the grease. If
one application is not sufficient, brush off and apply again until the
spot disappears.
When water may be used on the cloth, the chalk may be made into a paste
and spread on the spot and left until dry then brush off.
When color of a piece of goods has been accidentally or otherwise
destroyed by acid. Apply ammonia to neutralize the same after which an
application of chloroform will in almost every case restore the spot to
its original color.