A Problem Afoot About Dancing Shoes

Summer Wolf of Alta Loma has been getting the runaround in her search for extra-narrow Size 6 or 6 1/2 tap-dancing shoes , which seem to be unavailable at regular dance-wear stores. Can you help before Wolf is completely tapped out for a source, or will she feel that she’s been caught flat-footed because none of our readers out there are on their toes?

Janice McNees of Sun Valley is trying to latch on to the special Brazilian silk thread that is used in Brazilian or “Dimension” embroidery. Can you unravel this mystery by sewing up a source for McNees, or will she feel “threadened” enough to travel south of the border?

Juanita Matassa of Santa Ana is looking for Vinolia soap , which contains cold cream, boric acid and a light lemon scent; it is made in Britain and reportedly is used by Queen Elizabeth, but no one over here seems to stock it. Can you help before Matassa has to Concorde across the ocean, or will the trail get cold because she lost the scent?

Reader-to-Reader Help Line: G. Kershaw at (213) 594-9185 needs replacement parts for a portable metal Jacuzzi Model Y 300-B ; please help Kershaw get back into the swim of things. . . . Bonnie at (714) 774-8939 has been wearing out a lot of shoe leather in her search for Dr. Scholl rubber-soled exercise sandals ; evidently they have been discontinued. Please help Bonnie get her feet wet and make sure she won’t be found barefoot in the park. . . . Ruth at (619) 744-2453 needs six balls of Clark’s Big Ball three-cord Ecru 61 crochet cotton in Size 20 , so she can finish a tablecloth she has been working on for more than three years; Coats & Clark informed her that the ecru color was changed last year and no longer matches. Please get on the ball and see to it that Ruth’s efforts don’t result in a cloth of a different color.

Note: The Reader-to-Reader Help Line is only for one-time items or for products no longer available in stores. And you must give us written permission to publish your telephone number, so that others may contact you directly.

For Leslie R. Koenig of Sherman Oaks, who was after a whistling teakettle made of stainless steel with porcelain, we have something, but it’s not exactly a steal. Stephanie Hopkins of Temecula says to get the Chantal model with harmonica whistle, which retails in department stores for about $50 (Adray’s had it for about $40). Hopkins warns, however, that the kettle (according to her husband) sounds like a train going through a kitchen. A much-less expensive hint comes from Emma Kilbride of La Puente, who suggests putting a few playing marbles into the kettle; when the water boils, the marbles bounce against the walls and let you know it’s tea time.

Audrey Spencer of Westchester, who was looking for someone to repair a Great Bear steam train, should soon be back on track. Ron Moss of the Attic Fanatic, 9017 Reseda Blvd., Northridge, (818) 886-3959, says he specializes in parts and repairs of old toy trains. And Rudy van Wingen of the Joshua Tree & Southern Railroad Museum, a group of scale-model and full-size train enthusiasts, thinks one of his members may be able to help. Contact him at (818) 792-2639.

Gertrude Waggoner of Hawthorne, who wanted old-fashioned lye soap, should soon be able to come clean. L. Yegliss of Los Angeles says that the soap is unavailable in the United States but can be bought in Mexico as Don Maximo Fortissimo Sacamugre. Yegliss and several other readers said they either have some soap on hand or else make their own and would share the recipe or sell the soap. A stamped, self-addressed envelope will flush out further details, and that’s no lie.

Charles Shellenbarger of Claremont, who wanted some tie-it-yourself bow ties, no longer has to feel fit to be tied. Maxine Williams of Sunland says to either go to Atkinson’s Men’s Store, 412 S. Lake St., Pasadena, or Harrod’s in London (whichever is nearer); and Lynn Geller of Hollywood says she has bought these ties at Nordstrom and Neiman-Marcus.

Herb Hain cannot answer mail personally but will, space permitting, respond in this column to readers who need--or have--helpful information. Write (do not telephone) to You Can Help!, You section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.