“Buy stockings wisely—get foot and length measurements in relation to your requirements—proper size is an important factor in securing satisfactory wear”.

When women ask, “Will these stockings wash?” they really mean, “How well will they wash, and how should they be washed so as to give the best service?” All stockings made from silk, rayon, nylon, or cotton lisle, will wash to a degree.

The degree of washability determines the customer’s satisfaction, and this degree in turn is governed by the quality of the yarn, and the dyes used. Unfortunately, the washability of a stocking is an unseen factor, but all stockings will wash satisfactorily if given the same care as other fine fabrics in regard to shrinkage and colour fastness.

Stockings made from silk, rayon or lisle shrink a little, and will fade according to yarns and dyes used, because colour fastness depends largely upon the type of yarn. The selection of dyes is usually a matter of cost. Good yarn and good dyes, after continual washing, show only a trifling change.

A stocking may be washed several times a week, and if correctly done, this laundering actually prolongs the life of the stocking, and maintains its loveliness by removing the weakening effect of acid perspiration. When rayon stockings are taken off, doubtless it will be found that these have assumed the shape of the leg—one drawback of rayon has been very limited immediate recovery of stretch and incomplete final recovery—and if put back on the leg without having been washed, the stretched shape does not fit, bagginess and wrinkling being apparent at the ankle. After washing, however, the hose returns to near its original shape, and when dry, hugs the shape of the leg more closely than when new. The importance of washing after each wearing is, therefore, obvious. This advice to wash rayon hose