Does anyone else remember the days when we girls wore the stiff mesh slips that made our dresses stand out like crazy? I remember being caught up in that craze as a preteen and hating myself everytime I sat down in one of those crazy things! In going through a box of my mother's old hand-written recipes, I found her recipe for the rinse she used to dip these "petticoats" in when she laundered them for me and my sister. Her notes say she copied this from a caller on a local radio show called, "The Backyard Fence," where friends and neighbors called in to share recipes, items they wanted to sell, giveaway, etc. Here is the famous recipe:
3/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons turpentine
2 tablespoons borax
1 quart cold water
Stir up.
Dip in & iron dry
Lord, have mercy. We must have been crazy!!
I remember the layered petticoats. They were half slips with layers of usually lace fabric, gathered and sewn in tiers beginning about six inches below the waist. Our mom always hand washed our slips with woolite and I'm pretty sure she never stiffened them with anything. Thank goodness! Turpentine?? I bet that was fragrant!
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