Mix sifted stale bread crumbs with powder-blue, and rub it thoroughly
all over, then shake it well, and dust it with clean soft cloths.
Afterwards, where there are any gold or silver flowers, take a piece
of crimson in grain velvet, rub the flowers with it, which will
restore them to their original lustre.
_Another Method._
Pass them through a solution of fine hard soap, at a hand heat,
drawing them through the hand. Rinse in lukewarm water, dry and
finish by pinning out. Brush the flossy or bright side with a clean
clothes brush, the way of the nap. Finish them by dipping a sponge
into a size, made by boiling isinglass in water, and rub the wrong
side. Rinse out a second time, and brush and dry near a fire, or in a
warm room.
Silks may be treated in the same way, but not brushed. If the silks
are for dyeing, instead of passing them through a solution of soap
and water, they must be boiled off; but if the silks are very stout,
the water must only be of heat sufficient to extract the dirt, and
when rinsed in warm water they are in a state for the dye.
_Another Method._
Strew French chalk over them, and brush it off with a hard brush once
or twice.