Monday, October 23, 2017

Hidden Secrets II


Here's a second in my new series of hidden secrets.

When you buy a nice piece of clothing (e.g., fancy dress, business suit), it often comes with spare buttons and a little square of cloth. The cloth is the same material as the item.

Most people don't know what the cloth is for. Some guess, incorrectly, that it's to use as a patch for rips. No, it's not.

The real purpose of the cloth is to test laundry detergent and other cleaning solvents to see how the material will react to them. That way you won't ruin the entire garment when trying to clean it.

Isn't that clever?

15 comments:

  1. WOW!!! That is seriously clever ... Now I am sure a whole lot of garments have been ruined by us not knowing what that piece of material was for ... Why oh why are we not taught these things???!!!

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    1. Exactly! That's why I'm doing these posts -- to spread word.

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  2. I haven't ever seen a piece of clothing come with cloth, just with buttons. How interesting!

    Suzanne

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    1. Maybe it's more common with men's clothing. I see it often.

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  3. I actually did not know this! How clever!

    -Ashley
    Le Stylo Rouge

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  4. Ha ! I thought it was for patches too ;)

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  5. I never knew that. How clever. I also thought it was for patching.
    Thanks for this happy bit of news, I love to learn new and useful things. Even new and useless things...
    ❤️❤️
    Elle
    https://theellediaries.com/

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  6. I had no idea, Ally! I have a pink (!) Tweed coat, which came with a piece of fabric like that. xxx

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  7. Haha, I always thought it was for fixing holes! :-D

    -Kati
    Almost Stylish

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  8. But what about the lining? That is what usually shrinks and ruins a perfectly good outfit!
    Good idea though. xo Jazzy Jack

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  9. Of course, the buttons are for when one pops off and gets lost. I have a collection of swatches and buttons that go back generations for suits that have long since been retired to the junk heap of the donation pile.
    Pat

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  10. I love the little extras. It's one thing that I feel comes with quality clothing. My All Saints stuff always came with thread, buttons and sometimes the swatch

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  11. You learn something new every day. Thanks for sharing. I had no idea. Have a fabulous weekend Ally .. hugz

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  12. OMG, that's genius! I had no idea!

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