A teaspoonful of gum arabic dissolved in one teacupful of boiling
water; when cool, add half a teaspoonful of black ink; dip the lace
and spread smoothly between the folds of a newspaper and press dry
with book or the like. Lace shawls can be dressed over in this way, by
pinning a sheet to the carpet and stretching the shawl upon that; or
black lace can be cleaned the same as ribbon and silk. Take an old
kid glove (black preferable), no matter how old, and boil it in a
pint of water for a short time; then let it cool until the leather can
be taken in the hand without burning; use the glove to sponge off the
ribbon; if the ribbon is very dirty, dip it into water and draw
through the fingers a few times before sponging. After cleaning, lay a
piece of paper over the ribbon and iron; paper is better than cloth.
The ribbon will look like new.