THE LADIES’ WORLD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2517, 2 June 1909, Page 7

THE LADIES’ WORLD.

RENOVATIONS. There arc, of course, a lew women who, when they want a new dress simply buy it. But the majority of us when feeling tired of the gown we are wearing, and longing for a change, do not f ! straight off to the dressmaker and fer a new one, but first have a )rough overhaul of our wardrobe to see wliat possibilities there are of making new frocks out of old garments. The main trouble in renovating is to attain that degree of cleanliness which is absolutely the first essential in good dressmaking. Formerly benzine was ’ considered the sovereign remedy, and garments of all kinds and descriptions were treated with this dangerous oilBut the'many dreadful accidents which have resulted from tlie careless uso of benzine have made the people a little . ‘.more diffident about using it, and as a substitute much more simple remedies are now being used, the chief of which are magnesia and cornflour. For a lace blouse or frock which is only slightly soiled block magnesia will ■answer splendidly if rubbed well inBut til© cleansing medium which is most effective is the homely cornflour. The dirtiest lace gown can be turned out fresh and clean if it is treated properly with cornflour. To do tins thorough tlie garment should first oc well rubbed all over with the flour, then placed in a large bag, and bung up for a week. At the end of that time it should be taken out, well shaken, and liglitiv beaten with the hand ; this process will drive out dust and flour together, and the lace will bo left as clean as when new. Lace blouses and long lace coats so fashionable! this year will be a little more troublesome. Still the result is quite worth the labor, and though a whole gown requires a rather large amount of cornflour to treat it, the flour can he used over and over again, provided flie articles cleaned are not too much soiled. . . ~ For tailor-mades in light cloth 01 tweed, which, are only slightly soiled, ilie ordinary household whiting mixed with oatmeal is said to bo most efficacious. Tlie cloth garment should be spread on a table, and a clean piece of flannel dipped in the mixture and 1 over the surface. The hem, revhri? panncl. and collar and cuffs, •which are always the most soiled, should be r*ubbod over two or three times. Then the powder should be shaken off and the whole garment pressed with a heavy iron. For dark woollen materials ordinary blue water is an old remedy, and an effective one. Should the garment -he shiny a thorough sponging with strong ammonia water should first- be given, followed bv the bluing, and then the coat or skirt should . be- thoroughly 1 dried between two large cloths. In washing white silks soap should never be kneaded or rubbed with the hands. A little methylated spirit added to the washing and the rinsing water gives a brilliancy to the silk. For Shantung, cither in a natural shade of a> fast color, bran-water is iinuch better than soapsuds, half a pound of bran boiled in a quart of water and’ then strained, being the correct proportions. For washing ribbons —some ribbons wash well—nothing is better than tlie water in which notatocs have been boiled without their skins. _ for the starchiness of the water stiffens the ribbon without making it papery. Before washing anv silk or ribbon it is wisest first to try a small piece of the material.

GOOD RECIPES. Stewed Sweetbreads.— Ingredients: Two sweetbreads, three-quarters of a pint of brown sauce, and tomatoes. Method: Soak two swejetbreads in warm, salted water for an hour. Put on the stove in cold water and bring to a boiling point. Take out sweetbreads and rinse. Put on again in fyesh water or white stock, and allow to simnrci gently for an hour. Drain and press sweetbreads between two plates with wvdglit on top of them. Trim neatly <'#wcut into thick slices. Put the sweetbreads into the stew-pan with three-quarters of a pint of rich sauce, and let them get quite hot. In the meantime pour boiling water over some tomatoes, skin them, and place them in a buttered tin with buttered paper over. Bake till tender, but unbroken. Soda Cake.— Required: lour ounces of lard, ten ounces of flour, five ounces of white sugar, four ounces of currantstwo ounces of peel, two eggs, one gill of mil'k, half a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda. Rul> the lard into the flour, add the sugar, peel, and fruit, 11 then the eggs well beaten,, and about a gill of milk. Pour into a well-greased tin and bake in a quick oven for half or three-quarters, of an hour. N.B.— : This cake will keep well, so may be made as a stand-by. _ . . Corned Beef Pic -.—Required: Cold salt beef, one gill of good gravy, one tablespoonful of tomato sauce, pepper and salt, four or five tomatoes, two pickled gherkins, mashed potatoe. Take some cold beef, remove the ekm and fat and chop finely. Place in a basin and moisted with gravy ana tomato, sauce, adding pepper and salt to taste. Place a layer of sliced tomato at the bottom of the pie-dish, then put in the prepared mince. Cover the t , o r ' with thin slices of pickled erherkin, and lastly with mashed potato. Score the potato nicely across and bake in a quick oven for half an hour till nicely browned. Serve at once. Ba'ked Rice Pudding.—Baked rice pudding is one of the simplest of those simple dishes that seem to be easy enough to make, hut the suipassing difference between a really well made rice pudding and one prepared in the haphazard way often seem quite beyond comparison. As a rule it is most cordially detested. Take a teacupful rice to o quart of milk First wash the rice in cold water. Put the milk and rice together m a well-buttered pie-dish. Add two tablespoonfuls of sumar a little cinnamon or nutmeg, ya tablespoonful of finely-minced " Then cook the pudding m a very. ‘ 'oven for three hours not less. That time should ho given always lhe •pudding may be'eaten hot or cold, and will appear as if made with rich cream. Never boil rice before putting it to bake as some cooks do.