The 3x3 yards cloth is called a banquet cloth, and is one for which the
average housekeeper would have little use.



NECESSARY SUPPLY

The amount of table linen to be bought for the first "fitting out"
depends upon the fatness of the pocketbook and the room available for
stowing it away. Since there are so many other expenses at this time the
best way will probably be to buy all that will be needed for a year, and
then add to it one or two cloths with their napkins each succeeding year.
Three cloths of the right length for everyday use, and one long
"family-gathering" cloth, with a dozen napkins to match each, will be a
good start. If the special-occasion cloth seems to be too costly, two
short cloths of duplicate pattern can be substituted for it, the
centerpiece and a clever arrangement of decorations hiding the joining.
If table linen is to be stored away and not used for some time after its
purchase, the dressing which it contains must be thoroughly washed out,
else the chemicals are liable to rot the fabric. It is advisable, too,
to put not-to-be-used damask away rough-dry, otherwise it may crack, in
the folds. The use of colored table linens is in the worst possible
taste, except on the servants' table. Those flaming ferocities known as
"turkey-red" cloths, which seem to fairly fly at one, are not only
inartistic but altogether too suggestive of economy in laundering to be
appetizing table companions.