8. Bedding. Sheets can be purchased ready made in linen or cotton in various sizes. If they are to be made at home, buy sheeting that can be obtained for single, two thirds, or full-sized bed. If cotton, buy in bleached or unbleached condition. Purchase sheets which are long enough to fold over at the top and protect the blankets. There are several good brands of cotton sheeting. “Fruit of the Loom” is one of the best known. Tubing for pillow cases may also be bought. It has no seams, and comes in several widths. 9. It is better to purchase a certain amount of new linen annually and gradually supplement that worn than to wait and have all wear out at once. _Some things to remember in purchasing silk._ 1. That pure silk is seldom manufactured. It is nearly always weighted, and a large proportion of weighting is to be guarded against, as it weakens the wearing quality. Up to 30 per cent is not harmful and helps the silk to take the dye. The fact that it is heavy in the hand does not always mean that it is a good piece of material and will wear well——the weight may be due to artificial “weighting” and not silk. Choose rather a softer pliable silk. 2. Try the test for strength with the thumb (see “Shelter and Clothing,” page 199) to see if the warp and woof threads are equally strong, or stronger one way than the other. If the latter, it will not wear well. 3. Fray out the threads. Do they break easily? If so, the silk is not of good quality. If the warp threads are weak, the silk will split across, if the woof is weak, the silk dress will go in ribbons. 4. If you have time before purchasing, test a sample of silk by burning. Place in a porcelain dish and heat gently for thirty minutes. The silk will vanish and the weighting remain. Burn the threads to see if there is cotton in warp or woof. Burn end of sample. If it is the same shape after burned, it is probably weighted. 5. Close weaves wear better than more loosely woven ones and soft silks better than stiff. Guard against buying soft silks, however, that are so woven as to pull in the seams when worn. 6. Are you buying material made of reeled or spun silk? Bargains are seldom found at silk sales. Should you expect to find pure silk at 50 or 60 cents a yard or as many yards of silk thread B as A on a spool? Remember that the demand for a cheap product means the production of cheap products. Wear something else rather than cheap silks. 7. Is the silk adulterated with mercerized cotton or artificial silk? Try the tests. (See “Shelter and Clothing,” page 196.) _Some things to remember in purchasing wool._ 1. Wool mixed with cotton makes a cheaper fabric and should not be sold for all wool. It wears well, but is not as warm as all wool. Garments made of it do not keep their shape as well. Woolens are often adulterated in felting. Pull the closely woven fabric apart and untwist the fibers to see if cotton is present.