Some points in choosing textiles by Charlotte M. Gibbs
"Some points in choosing textiles by Charlotte M. Gibbs" is a practical household-science guide written in the early 20th century. It explains how to select and evaluate common fabrics, focusing on cotton, linen, wool, and silk, and offers clear, shopper-friendly methods for recognizing quality, spotting adulteration, and choosing appropriate materials. The book opens by noting the shift from home-made to factory-made cloth and the resulting need for informed buying. It then details
the traits of each fiber and the tricks used to cheapen them: cottons loaded with sizing or calendered to mimic mercerization; linens confused with cotton and identified by fiber feel, luster, and an olive-oil translucency test; wools blended with cotton, disguised in felted “woolens,” or made from shoddy, with guidance on thread feel and burning tests; and silks weakened by heavy “weighting” or woven with cotton backs, contrasted with stronger reeled or coarser pongee types. A concise checklist summarizes common adulterations and simple tests (examining threads, burning behavior, oil and finish checks). Finally, it offers practical buying counsel on weave and finish, matching fabric to purpose and budget, hygiene in underclothing, and tasteful color and design, ending with a call for higher standards and honest labeling. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Gibbs, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mitchell), 1885-1961 |
|---|---|
| Title | Some points in choosing textiles |
| Original Publication | Urbana: University of Illinois, 1902, pubdate 1912. |
| Series Title | University of Illinois Bulletin: Vol. X, No. 13, Nov. 25, 1912. |
| Credits | Carla Foust, Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 65.5 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | TS: Technology: Manufactures |
| Subject | Textile fabrics |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 76441 |
| Release Date | Jul 4, 2025 |
| Most Recently Updated | Jul 7, 2025 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 214 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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