In the Victorian era, women’s clothing was just as likely to spot, stain, and soil as it is today. For fine fabrics, this posed a particular dilemma. Ladies couldn’t simply throw their printed muslin dresses into a washing machine or send their silk ball gowns to the dry cleaners. Instead, they relied on their lady’s maids to keep their clothing clean and in good order.
“Quarter of a pound of honey; quarter of a pound of soft soap; two wineglasses of gin; three gills of boiling water.” As a final step, a lady’s maid would iron the dress while it was still damp. However, if the dress was black or dark blue, Beeton’s advises that, once dry, the dress should be spread out over a table and “sponged with gin, or whiskey, or other white spirit.”Stubborn stains, such as those from oil, could be treated with a number of substances, depending on preference.
Grease spots could also be rubbed out with “a lump of wet magnesia.” When dry, the magnesia could be dusted off the fabric. Another alternative, was to cover a grease spot with a liberal application of French chalk. Brown paper was then placed over the chalk and smoothed with a hot iron. According to Household Discoveries, “the iron will melt the grease and the chalk and paper will absorb it.”
“…laid on the stain, and left to dry some hours, then lightly scraped or rubbed off with a knife or flannel, so as not to injure the surface.”
Ooh, I forgot about this one!
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