Page:The museum, (Jackson, Marget Talbot, 1917).djvu/164

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138
THE MUSEUM

fer the lace into another bowl containing clean water of the same temperature and rinse the lace thoroughly by stirring it around well. If the lace is very dirty this process will have to be repeated several times; warming the rinsing water on the lace in the oven is also very helpful. Care should be taken not to break any threads, as the lace when wet is quite heavy and must be lifted so that no strain comes on any part. If the lace is very yellow it may be bleached by setting in water in a jar in the sun, although if the lace is clean the yellow color will do no harm. The most difficult process is the drying. When the lace is thoroughly rinsed it should be pressed between the palms of the hands to get rid of superfluous water and then picked out with the greatest care and infinite patience and laid out upon a clean white cloth fastened to a pillow. Tiny pins with very sharp points can be used to stretch it into place on the pillow and every part of the design must be worked into shape with the fingers. A woman used to handling lace is very clever at this and the piece when finished often looks quite like new. The use of a hot iron is highly inadvisable.

Folds in tapestry, lace or any other fabric must be guarded against as far as possible. If this cannot be helped the position of the crease should