17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Thursday, June 6, 1912:  Utterly forgotten.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Must have been a slow day . . .

I’m still reading a booklet that Proctor & Gamble published almost a hundred years ago on how to do laundry. A couple of days ago I told you about how clothes were ironed in the early 1900s. Many clothes needed to be starched before they were ironed.

Here are the abridged directions for starching clothes.

Starching

Aprons, shirtwaists, the trimming of underwear, etc. are starched. Make the starch according to the directions given below.

The amount of starch needed depends upon the number of garments to be starched. Those that should be stiffest must be starched first. Dry or thick materials take up more starch than wet or thin ones, and the starch may need to be thinned with water for some garments.

When only part of a garment is to be starched, gather that part into the hand and dip it into the starch, rub it well, then squeeze out the extra starch. This must be done by hand, the rest of the garment being held out with the rest. The starched pieces are hung out with the rest.

Thick Starch

Mix 1/2 cup starch and

1/2 cup cold water, add

¼ level teaspoonful shave white wax or lard and

4 cups (1 qt.) boiling water

Let it boil up several times to be sure that wax is melted and mixed and starch cooked. Add a little bluing and set dish in a pan of cold water until it is cool enough to handle.

Thin Starch

Mix 1/2 cup starch and

1/2 cup cold water, add

1/4 level teaspoonful lard or twice as much borax, stir smooth with

1/2 cup of cold, then stirring rapidly, add

3 pints of boiling water and continue stirring until it boils thoroughly. Have holder ready to lift it from the fire, or it will boil over. Add

1 pint of cold water to thin it and reduce the heat, and add enough bluing to counteract the yellow color of the starch. Turn starch into a large dish. If carefully made, it need not be strained.

Approved Methods for Home Laundering (1915)

As a reader commented on the post about ironing—thank goodness for spray starch. 🙂

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:  

Wednesday, June 5, 1912: Trotted up to McEwensville this morning on an errand for Rufus, the dear little mortal.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Throughout the diary Grandma referred to her sister Ruth as Rufus when she was particularly annoyed.

Was the errand to deliver a message to one of Ruth’s friends?  . . . .to buy something at a store?  . . .

Older sisters can be bossy, but why did Grandma agree to walk the mile or so into McEwensville?  Hmm– maybe running errands was more fun than watching cows.

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Tuesday, June 4, 1912:  Had most of the ironing to do today. Fixed over a hat by taking the ribbon off and putting another kind on. Wonder if I’ll wear it very much.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Ironing was much more complex a hundred years ago than it is now.  The Muffly’s did not have electricity, so flat irons would have been heated on the wood or coal stove.

Here are abridged directions for ironing from a booklet called Approved Methods for Home Laundering published almost a hundred years ago by Proctor & Gamble:

Dampening

Dampening or sprinkling is usually the last thing done at night.  Cover the table with a clean cloth, fill a basin with warm water, and use a clean whisk broom for sprinkling. Sprinkle each large piece, fold sides and ends into the middle. Lay small pieces together before rolling. Linen should be very damp. Pack all the rolls into the basket and cover tightly.

Ironing

Ironing is the finish of good laundry work and the test of the laundress.

A laundress’s test for a hot iron is to hold it near her cheek for a few seconds. If too hot for this, it is too hot to use.  [Comment—whew, this sounds dangerous. I’m amazed it was considered an “approved method” back then.]

Another test is to touch the bottom of the iron with a wet finger; if it hisses, it is hot—the shorter the hiss, the hotter the iron. [Comment–this also sounds a little dangerous; though I can remember my mother doing it.]

Shake or stretch the article to be ironed into shape and place on board. Iron with the right hand from right to left, using the left hand to arrange the material.

First iron the part that will wrinkle least, leaving the plain, straight parts until the last. Ruffles and trimming should be ironed first.

Best results are attained when the iron follows the long warp thread of the material. The cloth should be left dry, especially bands, hems, and seams, or they will wrinkle.

For heavy materials use heavy irons; for thin materials, lighter irons, and for gathers, a narrow, pointed iron. Iron quickly with an iron hot, yet not hot enough to scorch. If the material becomes dry, dampen it with a soft cloth.

These directions were the most basic ironing directions. For detailed directions about how to starch and iron a collar, click here to see a previous post.

Hat

Was Grandma already remodeling the hat with the brown ribbon that she just got in April or it was it another older hat?

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Monday, June 3, 1912: I am trying to remodel a skirt which was once the property of the benevolent Ruthie. I’ll know whether I’ll wear it or not after it’s finished.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Sounds like a bit of sarcasm. Grandma seems uncertain whether she appreciates her sister Ruth handing a skirt down to her.

I wonder why the skirt needed to be remodeled. Had styles changed? Was Grandma a different size than her sister?

It’s interesting that Grandma persevered, yet felt uncertain about whether she’d be happy with the remodeled skirt . Was she a pessimist? . . . pragmatic?  . . .

When I was young I often made outfits that I didn’t like after I’d completed them. But every time I started a new outfit I thought that it would turn out better than my previous efforts. If I hadn’t been an optimist, I don’t think that I could have worked on the sewing project.