Save 20% on your first Native purchase! Click here bit.ly/nativeabbycox8 and use my code ABBYCOX8 #AD Modern dress is from Voriagh! www.voriagh.com/ & all historical pieces were handsewn by me 😀

I appreciate that slippers were worn by laundresses because of wet feet problems, so Crocs are weirdly more accurate than expected!

@AbbyCox

Жыл бұрын

Wanna do this again this summer? I promise to not burn the house down

@MomShots

Жыл бұрын

I wanna join! This is me inviting myself to hang out with two of my favorite KZread Fashion Historians!😂

The 'i'm learning serviceable skills in case of an apocalypse' 'im just trying to make my lunch' is an absolute mood. The amount of times I've taken over the kitchen/living room/entire house with a project on the go with and my husband walks in, notices the happy little crafting dragon in her messy little cave and just backs away slowly.

@myladycasagrande863

Жыл бұрын

You've just reminded me of a time I was making a wedding cake, back when I still lived with my parents. Mom was out of town, and I'd completely taken over the kitchen. Toward evening, I looked up and found my Dad and two adult brothers standing in the doorway, apparently thinking that if I'd been busy in the kitchen for that long, surely I must have made dinner....um, no, we're ordering pizza. (Mom had planned for pizza that night, but the guys hadn't heard.)

@sheilaross1449

Жыл бұрын

My poor kids. There's always *some* project underway, whether it's mine or my partner's. They've grown up learning to expect a mess/inconvenience at any time.

@shevaunhandley1543

Жыл бұрын

I have a habit of taking over the entire living space of our little house. Sewing/crafting room? Nope, that's my lounge and dining area!

@mala3isity

Жыл бұрын

LOL You and Floor Troll Rachel should get together in her barn. :)

@midnightmuse9829

Жыл бұрын

Cross stitching, embroidery, crochet, mini painting, regular acrylic painting, stamps, newly sewing. I feel you.

Don’t forget that saturating fabric with starch and ironing it, helps keep stains and soil from setting into the fabric permanently.

@jenn-k-h

Жыл бұрын

Ah! That makes a lot of sense!!

@ShinigamisBlade

Жыл бұрын

I came to the comments to see why they would go through all of that work!

@Itsfineweerallfine

10 ай бұрын

Ladies and gents, we may have found the original purpose of starching, and it may have evolved into lunacy from there!

Abby: I am learning a skill incase of the apocalypse. Me: So does this mean ruffs will come back into fashion if modern civilization falls? Because now I am imagining Mad Max Fury Road with ruffs.

@noaccount2494

Жыл бұрын

Shakespeare meets the 80s is a hella of an aesthetic I wanna see

@Amy_the_Lizard

Жыл бұрын

I feel like it's not so much ruffs specifically coming back into style, so much as it is everyone wearing whatever the heck the want with little to no social consequences (even if you're in a group, odds are everyone'll be to busy trying not to die to question your fashion choices, especially if sturring up trouble could result in them getting kicked out and increase their odds of dying)

@emmadavey3892

Жыл бұрын

😂😂😂😂

@stargirl7646

Жыл бұрын

@@noaccount2494oh HELL yeah

@thedepthsofrepair

Жыл бұрын

So you mentioned Mad Max and Ruffs. Fashion as protection: "Insane" clothing choices can contribute to personal safety in situations from the apocalyptic to the mundane. Aggressors want predictability. If you're the weirdo in a ruff sporting a tea holster, you may get left alone. And remember, ladies and gentlefolk: You are never defenseless: even if you're cornered, you can always outweird someone. Do or say something completely bizarre and unexpected. The Common Predator may just run away from YOU.

I think the Crocs make the outfit.

@bellalye

Жыл бұрын

Couldn’t agree more.

@MsAngelique

Жыл бұрын

They are modern clogs in a way.

@CanadianTimeLord

Жыл бұрын

The Croc reveal reminds me of Lyanna Kea's videos. 😊

@itwasagoodideaatthetime7980

Жыл бұрын

@@MsAngelique So true.

@motorcitymangababe

Жыл бұрын

Ye olden ladies would have worn the shit out of crocs

With the iron, I would treat it the way we treat marcel irons in hair. Once you remove from the oven, test it on a piece of tissue paper or a perm paper to make sure it’s not too hot. If it singes the paper it’s too hot for delicate fabrics.

@emmareisenberg8107

Жыл бұрын

This or a quick dip in water, dry on a towel??? Maybe...

@myladycasagrande863

Жыл бұрын

​@@emmareisenberg8107if the iron is as hot as it looks, water would just evaporate right off.

@MerBri091

Жыл бұрын

@@emmareisenberg8107 it can also singe the towel, depending on how hot it is (from experience). In the salon, we just let marcel irons cool. After a while, you know if it’s too hot or just right by smell.

@kkckoz144

Жыл бұрын

We would also place Marcel irons on the cement floor of our shop to cool them down faster but yeah we would always test with a paper towel.

@babsgalv6556

10 ай бұрын

Bioanalyst here. Theres a kind of paper ( autoclave paper) that changes color when heated. To do this professionaly, buy a roll and identify optimal color for the wished temperature.

Love the shenanigans you get up to for the sake of recreating history. Between you and Bernadette Banner I'm not only thoroughly educated but have laughed myself silly from your side commentary. Thank you for continuing to put yourself in harm's way fir science and education. Plus you aren't the only one to nearly set you house on fire. I've nearly set my house on fire by turning on the wrong burner on my stove.

@zia_the_taby_cat

Жыл бұрын

I forgot a boiling pot of water on the stove untill the water boiled away and then some (I was working on an art project and went back to get my glass of water, but noticed something and started to just fixing "for a second" until the fire detector went off...)

@thedepthsofrepair

Жыл бұрын

Glad you were okay :-) My mistakes were too frequent. Electric kettles and steamers, and of course timers, are the ADHD tendencied's friend. I justify the cost as potentially lifesaving. Easily. Lol. Funny not funny.

@zia_the_taby_cat

Жыл бұрын

@@thedepthsofrepair the problem with an electric kettle is that I forget about it as soon as I leave the kitchen... I got a whistle kettle and use timers when I boil water in a pot now

@thedepthsofrepair

11 ай бұрын

@@zia_the_taby_cat I can understand forgetting about an electric kettle. Whistling kettles are wonderfully demanding. Unfortunately they get quiet without enough water, and of course one morning I forgot to add enough water... Glad you found some solutions and use them!!

@DaniCal1forn1a

11 ай бұрын

​@@thedepthsofrepairI'm british, and ADHD af... and I'm glad that my whole life all I've had at home has been electric kettles because ohhhh boy I never even considered the potential disaster a stovetop kettle would be for me 😅. Also always had an electric rice steamer or an instant pot at my parents' houses, I have neither the attention span or patience for cooking rice in a pan 🥲 - except I _love_ cooking risotto despite not really being able to leave it unattended, because observing the magic that happens as they cook tickles my brain just right 🤩. I'm fine cooking most other things without worrying I'll leave something going, and I usually enter hyperfocus while cooking... but if I can't _smell_ what's cooking and I have to step out of the kitchen for a sec then that's problems 😅, and for some reason if I have to boil something like rice or pasta or veggies for more than a few minutes I get insanely irritable - not entirely sure why other than my brain finding it incredibly boring, therefore not wanting to do it 🤣. Ah, the oddities of ADHD are often really funny to me 😂

My mother (back in the ‘50s) would always do one load in the washing machine of things that got starched; she boiled up Argo laundry starch (corn) on the stove until it thickened, then gradually added more water while beating, so no lumps. She would then add that to the last rinse in the washing machine, and then dry as usual. After that, the articles (I recall pillowcases and my father’s shirts in particular) would be sprinkled and folded, and placed in a heavy duty plastic bag for at least an hour while the water distributed evenly throughout. Then it was my job to iron them. Back then, I hated it; now, surprisingly I find ironing soothing.

@kathyjohnson2043

Жыл бұрын

Every week, my mom rolled the 6 white shirts and stored them in the freezer while she used spray starch to iron. She wouldn't 'let' me iron anything but the white handkerchiefs because I didn't do it up to her standards.

@roxiepoe9586

Жыл бұрын

Ironing starched garments was my first paying job. Mom ironed for other people and she let me do it also when I proved that I could do it up to her standards. When ladies brought things to be ironed they were in plastic bags and they went straight into the freezer. (I was born in 1956)

@eightchickens4415

Жыл бұрын

My grandmother did this, she stored them rolled up in a bag in the fridge!

@yeeaahhzz

Жыл бұрын

I'm sorry, I'm a young whippersnapper...what does "sprinkled" mean?

@merrianoliver-weymouth5265

Жыл бұрын

@@yeeaahhzz with water... my Grandma used a bottle with a pierced metal lid shaking water over things to be ironed and folded them until it was their turn

My inner 90s kid looked at the amount of work put into goffering and went "I wonder if you could use a hair crimper to do that faster?" LOL

@annied1827

11 ай бұрын

At least I wasn't the only one who thought that too 🤣

@orthicon9

9 ай бұрын

I wondered why only two rods instead of three or more (like a hair crimper), but then I figured that two would allow you create whatever width (or depth?) of pleats you need making up the ruff. Something like an Elizabethan golilla (no Google, NOT a "gorilla") would need really deep pleats.

One additional point to consider: the powdered bluing ingredients would probably leave you with a dryer starch mixture. The texture might be less gross.

Neighbours upon seeing Abby in the yard in an 18th C dress and bonnet: "Honey! She's doing something for the internet again 🤷‍♀"

@AbbyCox

Жыл бұрын

Ok but actually I totally met a new neighbor when I was out there 😂😂

@jenn-k-h

Жыл бұрын

@@AbbyCox LOL amazing 😂 I would definitely want to ask what you were up to 😏

@alisonbufarale3406

11 ай бұрын

I’d be giddy with excitement there is no way I couldn’t go introduce myself. 🤭🤭🤭🤭

@SiggySid79

11 ай бұрын

I’m just down the road. Next time you you do laundry fun can I play? I’ll bring my own toys. I have a mangle and crank fluter (for like skirt hems not sleeves)

@nimuek3107

6 ай бұрын

Don't forget the crocs. I was definitely watching her lay the laundry out and praying she has neighbors.

Okay, yeah, it was a hassle and a half, but you gotta admit that that cap does look fantastic afterward

@ah5721

Жыл бұрын

Agreed

Your shocked expression and $3500 for a f'n headset...oh that's so me and my husband! The amount of time and labor needed for laundry up until the early 20th century makes me so glad that I have wash and wear, baby.

I think the history of laundry is fascinating and doesn't get focused on enough. Like, the popularity of laundry starch, fabric softener, and ironing has been declining for awhile, because fashion trends have moved away from requiring those practices. Then synthetic fabric became so popular cause it was "wrinkle free", but that came with the unintended consequence of micro-plastics from these materials. Washing machines and dryers are convenient, but use a lot of electricity and water, so some people are moving back to hand washing and clothes lines.

@elizabethclaiborne6461

Жыл бұрын

Fabric softeners exist to A) sell you more stuff B) cover up the fact that washing machines don’t get your clothes really clean. They want you to use too much soap so you buy more, and hard water is a big problem. Nobody’s going back to labor intensive hand washing, which is brutal on a body. Machines need better management.

@meacadwell

Жыл бұрын

@@elizabethclaiborne6461 I actually hand wash several of my garments. True, they are hand sewn historical garments and other handmade or delicate garments but they are hand washed. I purchased a sink plunger and it's dedicated to laundry only. It get them cleaner than my washing machine does. If I had the time and energy I'd hand wash even more of my clothes.

@saraquill

Жыл бұрын

@@meacadwellHave you seen Townsend’s videos on 18th century laundry? For professional laundresses, the job was very physically demanding. Drunkenness was common.

@ah5721

Жыл бұрын

I find that washing machines don't realy clean stuff so I hand wash stuff sometimes. I got a very disgusting canvas backpack from the thrift store . Some plunge and scrub with oxyclean and lye soap 2x, and 4 rinses later the stink is gone and so is the terrible dinge . Now onto dyeing it a lovely blue!

@ah5721

Жыл бұрын

​@@elizabethclaiborne6461 when you hang dry laundry it gets stiff. Fabric softener was traditionally used to soften the fabrics so it wasn't stiff when it hung dried.

watch out, if the wind turns west at more than 3km/h on a full moon the third friday of the month in the summer, it'll turn yellow

@AbbyCox

Жыл бұрын

💀

@ah5721

Жыл бұрын

😂

At some point egg whites were used for this purpose too, right? I don’t know if that’s specific to the Iberian Peninsula, but what I’ve always heard here in Brazil is that the nuns would clean and stiffen the white part of their habits using egg whites, which meant there was an abundance of leftover yolk, hence the use of yolk in so many Portuguese desserts And great video! Learnt a lot

@AbbyCox

Жыл бұрын

I haven’t heard of this but that is super interesting!

@thcusandsunny

Жыл бұрын

Yes, that's true!

@mayfair_forest_witch

Жыл бұрын

That is such a cool piece of knowledge, you got me curious, I'll definitely try to go down that rabbit hole. ☺️

@lenabreijer1311

Жыл бұрын

Well it was used to spike hair in the 70s so it should work with fabric too

@jenn-k-h

Жыл бұрын

Mmmm... Portuguese egg tarts 🥰 That is really cool, would definitely make sense!

My mom was a nurse( old school since I am at elderly age ATM) and she would starch her caps. When I was older I would help....Argo starch, I would help rub it in and wipe it off much like you did so the starch was in the fiber. Ironing was her job until I was a teen. One day we washed the front of the fridge very well and plastered those caps to the front and let the hot weather dry them. Some of her colleagues had ruffled caps and used an iron like yours but shorter to make the ruffles. She had the best caps crisp, stiff & white. She looked like the classic nurse...Dad's shirts went to the laundry and came back perfect. I find ironing and starching relaxing and now have no real need to do either. Good work Abby, mistress will not fire you yet. My grandmother used a sugar mixture boiled and dipped things that needed to be crisp in that.....that she brought over from the old country.

@NationalHooeyLeague

Жыл бұрын

My mother used to do that too! I loved watching her do it every week. She also used to use starch for some of her cotton clothes as she thought it preserved clothes and made them last longer.

@paulabeard9063

Жыл бұрын

We must all be sisters! My mother ALSO starched her nurse's caps and stuck them to the fridge to dry. Maybe they taught this in nursing school! When I was very very young, we also had a wringer washer and no dryer. This was in 1960's Toronto, so not exactly the dark ages.

@emilycummings3125

Жыл бұрын

In NZ they had the old wringer washing machines in the 1980s!

@veevee306

Жыл бұрын

@@paulabeard9063 I am a nurse and my mother was a nurse. They didn't teach cap care formally in nursing school, but there were uniform inspections for nursing students living in the dorms and they taught each other. I have two hand-folded and hand-starched caps from my two stints in nursing school (one for my LPN and one for my RN) that have pride of place on my shelf. My mom stopped wearing her caps around 1980, but still knows how to clean and starch them.

@nedawilmhoff3599

Жыл бұрын

Yes, I know about the nursing cap. Mine never got to the point of needed washing but would have had to do it like this.

I know this isn't the topic, but your purple eighteenth century dress is the most perfect color for your complexion, and you look like the most beautiful laundress ever!

So your comment about not getting to hung up on the correlation of white clothing against the skin and social standing jogged my memory-in certain regions of Germany, it was a THING for the farmers (the average, ordinary, working hard to feed themselves farmers) to have a perfectly clean, starched white shirt for Sundays or social occasions, always. So yeah, not necessarily only for the upper classes, but definitely something that carried a message.

@apcolleen

Жыл бұрын

In the middle ages, in england boys of all classes were to have a "fine woolen cap for sundays" to wear to church. It was to prop up the cap making industry and another tax on the poor.

@makeda6530

Жыл бұрын

The Sunday Best~

@adaddinsane

Жыл бұрын

Not just Germany, probably most of Northern Europe. But definitely rural more than industrial.

Once again, I find myself in a weird place where a process that seemed to me as completely normal albeit a bit old-fashioned nowadays became a "fascinating part of history" lmao. I still remember my mum clear-starching older bed sheets & duvet covers, window curtains and even table cloths. It was like only 15 years ago mind you. I think my grandma might still do it on some stuff tbh.

@alisonbufarale3406

11 ай бұрын

Would she let you record her doing it? 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

Bernadette Banner levels of historical experimentation combined with Rachel Maksy levels of chaos.

15:14 As someone who is pretty terrible at starching without burning said starch, I can say with 98% certainty that you probably only singed the starch and not the fabric; judging by the color. Starch is the devil to work with; even the spray stuff. I'm somewhat grateful it's too hot to wear dress shirts lately, because I'm nearly _obsessive_ about starching my dress shirts. (I had a thrifted ironing board and it broke several times, and I was _irrationally_ pissed off about it and had to buy one new. I'm basically in my own personal hell of being really bad at not burning the starch, but _needing_ my shirts to be all stiff. I guess it's my fault for wearing more white lately lmao) EDIT: Added timestamp.

@jackieknits61

Жыл бұрын

My sister specializes in ironing. I cook. I eat well and wear fashionably rumpled linen. I think I came out ahead there.

@Arcanist_Gaming

Жыл бұрын

@@jackieknits61 Honestly lmao. Ironing _sucks,_ especially in recent weather and a basement suite with no air flow because all the windows ae storm windows with three 1-inch openings when you _do_ open them. Can't wait to get out of here.

@ThePopopotatoes

Жыл бұрын

​@adelegleason1000 hey if your fabric is SUPPOSED to be wrinkly who needs to iron, it's fashion 😎

@celenameg

10 ай бұрын

You are so right about it burning easily. Stirring wheat starch paste when I worked in a book conservation lab was my least favorite activity because of the thick gloopy texture and not wanting to burn it D:

18th century look is THE perfect look 4 Abby!

@kathyjohnson2043

Жыл бұрын

Yes, I know she also likes 19teens, but I love seeing her in 1700s.

Abby, I seem to recall someone saying (maybe Townsend’s channel, the episode when they interviewed the living history laundress??) that starching actually helped keep white clothes white because soil wouldn’t soak into the cloth fibers because the starch was already there. Water would lift the soil off before soaking into the cloth and releasing the starch for restarching.

@ah5721

Жыл бұрын

Townsend did do a video on wash and starching!! With Maggie the laundress

I definitely think the crocs made the outfit. I’ve never laughed so hard at someone doing the laundry. Please keep up these videos. I absolutely love them.

When you use the iron, have another towel on hand. Make sure its thick so it doesn't burn YOU. When you take the iron off the burner, rub it on the towel to cool it down some to reduce scorching. Ive never used one of these, but i have kinky afro-text hair, hot combs on ceramic hot plates was a staple in my childhood. And to prevent it from scorching hair, the towel was used to bring down the temp some before using it in the hair. Note the towel isnt going to be used for anything else once doing this. It will scorch the towel. So keep the towel with the iron when you're done for future use.

@kathyjohnson2043

Жыл бұрын

Yes, think of that historical movie trope of the hiss of the iron taken off the iron stove (holding it with a cloth) and pressing it briefly on the damp towel to get the right temperature

@talithawimberly3386

Жыл бұрын

I was looking for this comment. As someone who grew up with a very similar stove, and learned to use it you must test the iron on the towel to see how hot it is and if you need to let it cool.

@saraquill

Жыл бұрын

Hearing the hiss of hot comb against damp cloth, before the thing gets into my peripheral vision… I flinch.

In Pakistan we still do starching. It's usually done for the traditional clothing for men.

They'd heat the ends of the goffering iron tines over a candle flame. When hot enough they'd wipe off the tines with a clean cloth to remove any soot. Then they'd do a tester cloth to see if it was too hot or dirty. Doing it this way would heat the tine ends to just the length needed for whatever it was they were workin on and wouldn't over heat the tines, preventing scorch marks.

Not me snort laughing at "this is very dangerous" and the reveal of the pot holder. I love everything about this channel.

You are one BRAVE woman! All I can say is thank God for liquid starch off of the store shelf which I used a lot back in the late seventies to iron my Air Force uniforms before they took pity on us and began making them permanent press and, too, thank God the dress shirts were not white! Great job despite the learning curve, Abby!😊

@roxiepoe9586

Жыл бұрын

I lived just outside the AFB my dad worked on. Mom did ironing. The enlisted seemed happy with the new fabrics, but the officers stayed mad for years.

Me, watching the pot holder get put over the iron thing: "oh, so this is how she almost burned her house down." Glad you caught it in time!

Ach, imagine how many caps and fancy bits got singed the same way with the iron when the laundresses were learning. Fun to realize, "ohhh, that's what happened!" Very cute result when it's freshly starched and ruffled.

every time I hear someone discuss an old fashion trend as being a "status symbol" or a "display of wealth" I think that's the exact same way someone in the future might describe long decorative nails. like in reality people just liked them. and you don't have to be rich but it sure does help.

My anxiety and I would not have survived in those Victorian times. The vagueness of the instructions… I can’t

I think I was 16 when I got told the point of ironing, to get rid of body lice and flea eggs. They lay them in the seams, and can survive a hot wash. Hence why it's still considered a mark of hygiene to have well pressed shirt, with sharp collars.

I love the old tools of the trade however I'm thinking my smallest curling iron would be far less dangerous. 😊 I also recall seeing a video where a former Amish described putting their cap on a full roll of toilet paper in order to perfectly press the rounded back of the cap. The blend of old and new practice is interesting to me. Love your crocks.

@megankuchta9145

Жыл бұрын

Yes I saw that video too!

I'm pretty sure this starching technique is still used for certain folk garments even today because there is just NO WAY with modern stuff you can get that stuff as stiff as it needs to be (think those lacy Breton hats, lol, or certain Chinese pleated skirts, stuff like that)

@lynn4861

Жыл бұрын

You also need starch for a Navajo broomstick skirt

“Historical woman singing Hall and Oates while doing laundry” is my new aesthetic.

That would be me! Placing something on the hot dangerous thing to protect my clumsy self and almost burning the house down!!! 😂 As my husband can attest to me doing... And all family and friends can attest to my clumsiness... 😅😂😂😂😂

@AbbyCox

Жыл бұрын

us: "look at us being s a f e" 💪🏻 house: "YOU SURE ABOUT THAT?" husband: "YOU SURE ABOUT THAT?!"

@stephanie9570

Жыл бұрын

@Abby Cox 😂😂 every day!!

So in my area's local folk dress here in the Netherlands we had a variation of these 18th century caps until the early 20th century, and they were starched and pleated to within an inch of their lives. (If you google image 'knipmuts' you can see lots of examples). I'm no expert on this and have never done it myself BUT I know people who do, since a few people who had knipmuts-maker as their job are still alive, so I do have some tips: First of all, iron the fabric before pleating it, to really set the starch and get the wrinkles out. Then the first time pleating is actually *not* done with the hot goffering iron. It's done with a kind of wooden frame with metal pipes, and the fabric gets pressed between them (so you take the fabric, put one metal pipe on it, pull the fabric up, put a pipe underneath, pull the fabric down, put a pipe on it, and then make your way through the whole thing like that.) Make sure you do this really tightly. Then tie it all with a string and leave it overnight to set. This way you create really even pleats. Only after all that, you would use the goffering iron to kind of finalize the pleats. With our local headwear, you'd actually take the cap apart and pleat the bits of fabric separately before sewing it all back together (the goffering iron would only come in once everything is back together). Also if you want, I have pictures and videos of the process and tools used.

I've been starching petticoats, chemisettes, under sleeves, shirts, all manner of "small clothes" for years. I do mine a bit differently, but the result is the same--crisp, smooth things. What's really nice is the starch sort of fills in the crevices in between the threads in the fabric, thus helping to keep the garment clean and when the washing is done, the starch rinses away along with (most of) the dirt. With certain types of garments, like 19th c. corded petticoats, the starch also helps to add structure. I use potato starch per references in The Frugal Housewife by Lydia Child. Rice or wheat starch might be interesting to try. Thanks Abby!

I make wheat starch paste on a weekly basis, and by the look and (your reaction to) the consistency of your starch paste I think it wasn't completely cooked. Try 1 part starch to 4 parts water, and keep water on hand if you need it. In a sauce pan or double boiler (or microwave), and stirring constantly, gradually heat the starch and water slurry to 124 deg F. At this point the larger starch granules begin the gelatinization process. You may need to go up to 140 deg F to get the smaller granules to burst. You'll notice the mixture thickening and it will become mildly transparent. At this point, dip a tiny bit of paste onto your index finger, taking care not burn yourself, and pinch your thumb and index finger together. If you find that there is mild tackiness, then the starch is cooked. Pro-tip for mixing the blueing into the starch: mix lightly and then put through a sieve.

LMAO your reaction to the Apple VR headset price. My partner did the same thing to me, I guessed 2k at first, still about spit my drink out when he told me the actual price!

Oh my, you know you’re old when you knew exactly what the blueing was and remember it being used on laundry day. 😂

@m.maclellan7147

Жыл бұрын

Actually, there is a young gentleman who just did a video about using bluing in laundry. His name is Rajiv Surendra and he is fascinating!

@twobluestripes

Жыл бұрын

Some people still use blueing! And it’s an additive in the normal Oxyclean and lots of detergents. (Liquid Tide is blue, too). I bet professional laundry and hotel laundries use it too. One look at the laundry aisle in Walmart or Target can tell you that some people still do a more old-fashioned or manual laundry. I myself don’t iron anything, but my sister called me the “laundry witch” because I get really into optimizing my laundry results. As a teen, I started hang drying almost all my clothes because I am so tall and was trying to combat shrinkage, and of course like many girls, I had to learn how to get blood out. But as an adult, I realized that hard water was really destroying my laundry, especially black cotton socks for work, so I started researching how to combat that (now I use Calgon), and I also learned a TON trying to figure out how to remove yellowing from sunscreen on white blend fiber shirts… that’s how I learned about use ammonia in laundry. I also have learned a bit about ecologically safe detergents and using laundry greywater. You know who the real laundry witches are today, who are serious pros about it? Moms who cloth diaper and do their own laundry, they become experts on the mechanisms of detergents and water chemistry and all that!

Oh wow, my parents still soak their bedsheets in potato starch gloop before taking them to linen pressers (they are less and less now in Poland). Their bedsheets are the smoothest and so well pressed! Plus smell heavenly!

@jessicazaytsoff1494

Жыл бұрын

People never believe me that ironed bed linens are lovely to sleep in. I'm glad to hear that this wasn't something my parents just found out by weird ironing accident but is a less starchy way of getting almost there!

@taniagruning4559

Жыл бұрын

The laundromat where I live have hot mangles, I mangle my kitchen and bed linens, so they look good

Huh! My grandma did the wash/ starch every 2 weeks and taught me. She was born 1898 and I learned sooo much from her.

Abby's lucky the smoke alarm didn't freak out. Those things are so sensitive they go off for every little reason.

That device that almost burned your house down reminds me of old school hot comb heaters. Turn it on, put the hot comb in, and try not to burn all your hair off. My mom and grandma would use a paper towel to test the comb. If it burned the paper it would burn your hair. Maybe a similar method would work for the tongs

@angelmaden1559

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, think I had flashbacks from that!

@HeatherOrdover-CraftLit

Жыл бұрын

I was wondering what the device was that heated the tongs. Anyone know what it’s called?

When I grew up, Friday was laundry day for my grandmother. She had a process, first, wash the sheets in a slow washer. She drained the water, and then cooked a pot of water on the stove, added starch, stirred it vigorously, and then added the water to sheets to it. She ran the washing cycle again, fished the sheets out and put it through the wringer before hanging the sheets to dry outside. Her sheets were so crisp and immaculate, but as a child I didn't care for that. I cared that I was there to help her. I did love the vigorous stirring she did before wringing out the water, with a large wooden spoon. It was awesome.

Bookbinding tip for the goffering iron; when using finishing tools to put gold onto leather, brass tools are heated on a small stove (I currently use an aluminum top lab stove) and are then cooled to the correct temperature by putting the hot tool on a pad of wet cotton on a plate until it gets the right "sizzle" sound. There is quite a bit of trial and error until you can judge the temp by sound but this definitely dips the temperature so you won't burn the material as readily. Also, the cotton pad is weird looking so you'll get lots of questions about it... Also, wheat starch paste texture can be improved greatly by running it through a mesh strainer or stocking. You can also use that process to easily mix in pigments by running it through a few times with your colorant. This process will work out any lumps of undercooked starch. If you hate this process, you would hate making paste papers...

Bluing is interesting, it is actually fine iron particles. It works on white haired old ladies to remove the yellow tinge .😊

The ruffles are GORGEOUS, but dear lord the time needed for it!

As someone who’s been hand washing everything lately, I definitely prefer the citronella smell of Zote laundry soap to Fels Naptha which looks like what you’ve got. It’s definitely a lot of work doing everything manually but the results are kind of amazing and it does make you appreciate little details like this because of the labor that goes into it.

@bluebellflamesx

Жыл бұрын

Where does the sunlight bar of mystery yellow soap rank?

@theoriginalnik

Жыл бұрын

@@bluebellflamesx haven’t tried it actually, I didn’t see that one at my local grocery but it looks like it comes in lemon so maybe not bad 😂

Interestingly i recently watched a video on the Lost Trades channel about an elderly lady showing how to use starch like this to press incredible pleats into the sleeves and ruff collars of the traditional white linnen shirts of her village. Highly recommend

Abby I get a certain amount of chuckle out of watching a woman dressed in chemise, corset, and historical garments, taking nice swig from her plastic Starbucks cup. Thank you for being a modern woman underneath it all!

I remember in the 1950's, every Saturday, we would hang crinolines on the clothes line and pour liquid starch over them. Nice stiff crinolines but they would scratch legs so had to wear an underskip. Good old days! ❤

As someone who uses wheat starch for paper mache for my job, I recommend whisking the starch to prevent lumps cuz the lump are disconcertingly nasty as someone with textural issues. I get a cup slowly stream into the liquid while whisking vigorously. If to many lumps are there I strain it through a sieve. We don’t heat the mix for paper mache however heat tends to make starches gel up faster. But yes wheat paste is always that gloopy texture.

Eeep! That brought back memories of school. My domestic science teacher used to wear white, spotted muslin aprons, that were always starched to the point where they could probably have stood up on their own.

The laundry spanking made my day 😂

I think in Poland we used potato starch, at least that's what my great grandma used. You could also use it to create wallpaper glue... or mix it with some mushed up fruits and sugar and serve warm as dessert (its called "kisiel"). Such versatile product.

Not sure how many of us will be starching our delicates come the apocalypse, but I'm here for it anyway. Certainly more involved than the spray starch my husband used to use on his army uniform.

@bluebellflamesx

Жыл бұрын

More like prepping for the handmaid's tale universe😂

I'm totally vibing with the crocs. I did many job interviews over Zoom during the pandemic and I was dressed for interviews, hair done, make-up done, ... and wearing my comfy slippers because why not? They're never going to see my feet.

Abby, I must say that your ruffles done with the offering iron are lovely. Maybe try a tiny curling iron (electric) f you don’t have very excellent homeowners insurance? My grandmother used to have her living room covered in crocheted doilies and antimacassars that were ironed to crisp ruffled perfection. She tttold me that they sometimes used a sugar solution rather than a carbohydrate-based starch to make the ruffles extra crisp. I was a child in the ‘60’s when she said this but considering that she was born circa 1906… . Do any of you other ladies remember sing told anything like this?

@joannshupe9333

Жыл бұрын

Absolutely! in the 50s it was the "in" thing to have a giant ruffled edge on a crocheted doily with a china ballerina standing in the middle. It took hours pinching the ruffles to shape them while they dried. I think I recall wadded up wax paper stuffed into them to help supportthem, but did tend to sag of their own weight, hence the pinching.

@lazygardens

Жыл бұрын

"Sugar sharp" - the Southern phrase meaning you are totally dressed up, from how crisp the tedious sugar and ironing (extra careful because it burns fast) made things.

I'd test out new (old!) laundry techniques on my handkerchiefs, I think. Less stressful if ruined! The goffered cap was lovely, but definitely a special finish! I starch my son's chef whites, I make a runny paste with cornflour and hot water (not boiling!) and add it to the conditioner drawer of my washing machine and put it on a rinse cycle.

i'm so surprised you busted out that little furnace to pre-heat the goffering iron - i'm not sure what it's actually used for, my exposure to it is that it's a tool that flameworkers use to pre-heat glass because it gets up to 700-900F

I know my mother was so happy when my father got them a washing machine. No more hours spent in the wash house with the fires going to get the copper kettles boiling for the laundry and then switching out the irons on the top of the boiler while she ironed everything. This was in the mid 1940's in England.

now I want to feel the starch mixture 😂

@AbbyCox

Жыл бұрын

No you don’t 😂😂

@clairemullin249

Жыл бұрын

The toddlers at my nursery setting would have LOVED that stuff!

@meacadwell

Жыл бұрын

If you've ever felt slime you've pretty much felt that starch mixture.

@cheekyb71

Жыл бұрын

That's exactly how we make slime for kids here in New Zealand preschools.... one type was beaten soap flakes, another was cooked cornstarch.... pro tip, microwave that stuff!!! Make your cornflour and water slurry and then microwave it - no lumps!

@ah5721

Жыл бұрын

​@@cheekyb71 I would have whisked it .

The laundry starch (we called it gaogao) is still available in my country. The brand name is Liwayway. I used it as an alternative glue to make papier-mâché.

This is ADHD abby at full blast! Misunderstanding of instructions, hating the texture of the starch..... relating too much......😂😂😂

I’ve had good results using an electric hair crimping iron. I used spray starch on damp linen …🙄🥰loved watching you play with the slime - definitely challenging for folks with sensory play issues🫣🤣

There's a reason we call corn starch+water mixture oobleck

Mum and I use some diluted vodka in a spray bottle for starch. Works just as well as the stuff in the can. I know potato peels were a common source of starch back in ye day. Not as much work, but still a nod to historical laundry.

Abby looks great back in 18th century garb. Actually seeing the processes people did that we have automated away is so interesting. I can understand the division of people into the servants and the served. I wonder if any of the higher ranked servants had servants?

@ah5721

Жыл бұрын

Just people below them. The house keeper had maids/enslaved people below her and above her in better off families had a butler with men servants/enslaved people below him. The lowest were scullery Maids whose Jobs were to empty chamber pots peel potatoes etc and do the dirty work no one else wanted

Glad I’m not the only one thinking about my apocalypse skill set.

Wool, a nice thick wool pad instead of the polyester pad. Test it like you would an iron to help prevent scorching, a drop of water should hiss and skittle.

@AbbyCox

Жыл бұрын

My dumb brain was going “lalala oh it’s an oven mitt this will be perfect lololol don’t melt your skin off lalalalalalala” 🫠

@heatherhammerquist6239

Жыл бұрын

@@AbbyCox I’ve done the same thing myself a couple of times, so now I spin and knit my own…you’re lucky, I have set fire to 2 oven pads, one oven glove and three handle covers…🙄 Anyway, for the tongs (I’ve already forgot their name *sigh*) after heating drip a drop of water at the end to help gauge how hot it is, and if you have a gentle grip pair of pliers, use them to help hold the tongs shut for a nice crisp curl.

I'm familiar with the feeling of that slime! Wheat starch and water is how you make wheat paste. It's still used in preservation picture framing even nowadays

That laundry starching would be 100% my alley. I love it. I way prefer doing laundry than any other chore. I will now find all my whites that need starching and go to town on that recipe.

I'm starting to see the potential that electronic hair styling wands could have on my linens.

I love historical experiment day with Abby!

LOL my favorite line hands down was "I'm learning serviceable skills in case of an apocalypse." LOL Hilarious!

My mom in the 60s would starch my dad's chef hats. She would use blue tablets that she would boil. After they dried iron them they stood up so nicely. I would heat her childhood iron on the stovetop to heat it so I learned to iron they way she did.

Don't mind me eyeing my curling iron with a bad idea brewing

You'll be delighted to know that I involuntarily joined you on the "doo doo, doo doo. Doo doo, doo doo" at the end. Also, SO COOL that the clear starching works so well! Quick question: does laying it on the grass accelerate the drying or was it just a better option than putting it on the pebbles?

@jackieknits61

Жыл бұрын

I saw on another similar video that it helped with the whitening. Something the grass off gasses helps bleach the fabric. Otherwise it would be hung up on a line or on a bush.

Lol at the hot iron 😂 I’m black and growing up my mom would use a hot iron comb to straighten my hair (sounds extreme but this is pre-flat iron, and hot combs are still used in black salons today). You can test the heat of the iron by using a few paper towels! Set the iron on a few paper towel first; if it iron burns the paper towel, it is absolutely too hot for your fabrics (or in my case, hair)!

"Business on top, party on the bottom" 😂😂 that absolutely caught me off guard for some reason. This video was ✨A M A Z I N G✨. 11/10 recommend. Also, the bluing dye makes SOOO much sense. I'm a person that wears religious clothing that's white on the regular. Let me tell you, white clothes against your skin get dingy really fast. Cleaning with bluing agents helps a ton in restoring the whiteness of the clothes because it cancels out the yellow. Who knew elementary color theory applied to laundry 😂

Health and safety, HEALTH AND SAFETY!!! Abby! Although I love how chill your husband effectively is about you almost burning the house down and/or incinerating yourself...

This is actually super interesting. I love hearing about "oh there is actually a point to this!" It reminds me that people have always been people 😁

Things I learned today: (1) I will NOT be starching during or after the apocalypse, (2) OMG Apple wants WHAT for VR tech and Abby likes to live on the edge, the burning edge. Love these tutorials, they make me appreciate the 21st century (unlike my current events news feed 👀).

If I could like this video multiple times I would. The sidebar commentary was 😂 . “It’s laundry time BLANKS !!”

The finished ruffles are so nice and neat. I would say that this was a good first attempt.

The whole trying not be burned but failing at it through other means is such a mood. Though with me, I sometimes forget I've hurt myself until days later (and yes, I have accidently set a papertowl on fire in the oven because I forgot I had papertowls to soak up oil on fries to keeping them warm in said oven....) Me: *doing okay until burns arm on hot pan* Ow.... *shoves it under water and continue cooking* Also me several days later: *looks at burn* ..... Oh did I do that? Mom: you burned yourself on the pan several days ago doing tacos. Me: OH YEAH! Okay..... This has also happened with bruises when I've ran into shelves in stores and smacked myself with my roller bookbag into my achillies' Heel..... >_> Overall, I couldn't help but snicker at you going "ew" the whole time with the starch slime because that looked kinda fun actually. I could make it go 'squish' and fall out of my hands with glee. And then proceed to forget and get all over my face while I work on the starching..... (This has happened with Charcole, Pastels, printmaking inks and paints......)

@scriptedwit7791

Жыл бұрын

I like to think this happens because we are too busy having fun with our projects to remember or care about the small accidents. Same thing always happens to me. I’ve got a burn on my hand right now from over a week ago and I can’t remember the exact instance I got it from. So it’s the mystery burn (cue x files music)

Absolutely loving ✨ ye old timey craft gremlin phase ✨

"I'm learning serviceable skills in case of an apocalypse" 🤣 I think I need a tshirt and also need to remember it for later

"Business on top, party on the bottom... Let's do it " I get the feeling that this statement is desperately in need of an historic meme😂❤🎉

My Aunts used to do this. Thankfully when I came along my grandmother was too old to enforce this and my aunts let me get away with just folding and putting away, instead of washing them in an outdoor washer. You had to draw up water and in the winter bring it up from the spring and heat it on the stove, then hang it to dry, if it was winter beat the ice off to get the clothes and bring them in to hang around a fire. Then you would wet them and blue the whites and iron them, I had an electric iron, but my aunts did not. And that heater you used is a Marcelle (sp) curling heater for curling hair. Most people I know who used them would test it on a paper towel to make sure they did not burn the hair. Great Job!!!

"I'm learning serviceable skills in case of an apocalypse" is how I'm responding to any craft criticism from now on

I am so excited to watch this!! I recently got into historical renacting, and decided to portray a British camp follower laundress. I've been trying to do some research into it, but I have found it really hard to find any information. So, this is a big help. Also, I was wondering if you, Abby, or anyone else might know of some resources about this very specific topic? Also, thank you so much for all of your videos they have been sooo helpful since I started renacting. Now, this kinda off topic, but did you have a person while you were working at Colonial Williamsburg? And if so, do you have any tips for creating a persona, and or being in character tips. Thanks!!❤

@ah5721

Жыл бұрын

Look up Townsends Maggie the laundress and Ruth Goodman doing laundry

“Because why would I wear real shoes for this? I wouldn’t. I’m going to be comfy.” That’s a life motto, right there. Also, I really like the juxtaposition of the super modern refrigerator and the historical fit. That’s a vibe.

Thank you for making me appreciate spray starch. In a can.