DESIGN

Styles in table linens change from time to time and render it difficult to say what may or may not be used with propriety, except that the general principle of coarse, heavy-looking designs being in poor taste always holds good.  One pattern alone has proven itself, and stood the test of time so satisfactorily that it is as high as ever in the good housekeeper’s favor, with no prospect of falling from grace—­our old friend the dainty, modest snowdrop, a quiet, unobtrusive little figure in a garden array of roses, English violets, lilacs, tulips, irises, and poppies—­for these are flowery times in linens.  Occasionally we meet with a scroll or fern design, though the latter is gradually falling into disuse as being too stiff to twine and weave into graceful lines.  So true to nature and so exquisitely woven are these posy patterns that they form in themselves a most charming table decoration.  In order to secure perfect reproduction a manufacturer in Belfast has established and maintains a greenhouse where his designers draw direct from the natural flower.  This care is but the outgrowth of the more refined living which demands that beauty shall walk hand-in-hand with utility.

PRICE AND SIZE

Before our housekeeper starts a-shopping she must lock up her zeal for economy lest it lead her away from the straight and narrow way of good taste into that broader path which leads to the bargain counter.  She may as well make up her mind at once that desirable table linen is not cheap, the sorts offered at a very low price being neither economical nor desirable, and that a cheap cloth which cheapens all of its surroundings is dearly bought at any price.  Occasionally the experienced shopper can pick up at a sale of odd-length or soiled damasks something which is really a good offering, particularly during the annual linen sale which falls in January.  But as a rule beware of bargains!  The fabric is liable to be a “second” with some imperfection, or to contain a thread of cotton which gives it a rough look when laundered, and there is generally a shortage in width—­which suggests the advisability of measuring the table top before buying, for cloths come in different widths, and one which is too narrow looks out-grown and awkward and—­stingy!  The average table is about 4 feet across, and requires a cloth 2 yards square, though in buying by the yard it is safe to allow an extra quarter for straightening the edges and hemming.  The cloth should hang at least a foot below the edge of the table, with an increase of half a yard in length for each additional table leaf.  A cloth 2 yards square will seat four people; 2 by 2 1/2, six; 2 by 3, eight; 2 by 3 1/2, ten; and 2 by 4, twelve.  A wider table calls for a half or a quarter of a yard more in the width of the cloth, at some little additional cost, as fewer cloths in extra widths are made or