Linen Care

Washing

Linen is a natural fabric that does not need specialist care. 

Our linen can be machine washed – plain white linen at 60°C and embroidered and coloured linen at 40°C. We don’t recommend bleach as it can damage any sort of fabric. Detergents should have no optical brightening agents which may cause damage to colour and especially to natural, unbleached linens.

Our cut length fabric has been pre shrunk and softened to give a lovely supple feel however it can still shrink by up to 4% so always allow for this when making up into curtains, chair covers etc.

Unlined Curtains

Unlined curtains can be washed, pre-washing before making up will reduce shrinkage.

Lined, Interlined and Blackout Lined Curtains

We advise Hand-made interlined curtains to be dry cleaned by a curtain specialist. Dry cleaning can also cause shrinkage.

When making up linen curtains we recommend the lining is hemmed separately to avoid any sagging.  Hems should be on both side but not the bottom.

Tumble Drying

Tumble dry for a soft, supple finish and no ironing required. However, beware that tumble drying does lessen the life of any fabric and is not recommended for elaborate embroidery. Having said that, it is unreasonable to expect people not to use their dryers – it is obviously a more practical way of drying things and everything comes out beautifully supple and soft. 

Try not to let linen dry completely if you are going to iron – linen is much easier to iron while damp. If you dry linen completely in the tumble dryer it may appear to have drastically shrunk. The fibres have just been compacted together and will return to normal after a quick press with an iron (and a spray of water).

Ironing

Firstly, as already mentioned – you don’t have to. It is perfectly fine to wash your linen sheets, dry them and put them straight back on your bed. It will look slightly creased, but if you don’t mind and ironing is not one of your favourite pastimes then that’s fine.

However, if you like the idea of pressed linen sheets, table cloths, napkins etc ironing can be an enjoyable and therapeutic experience!

Here are a few ironing tips:

• Always iron linen while still damp (it’s much easier to get rid of the creases) – then fold and put in an airing cupboard or somewhere warm.
• Use a steam iron.
• Linen water is a great invention – fragranced water that can be sprayed on as you iron. It smells great and helps with the ironing too.
• Iron folded sheets, duvet covers and tablecloths – if you don’t mind the chequer board creases (which we like), then this can reduce the time it takes.
• Use starch for table linen and clothes for that crisp linen look. It will also slightly protect the linen from stains.
• Ironing embroidered linen can be difficult as the iron can get caught in the stitching and cause damage. Just place a piece of plain material over the top and iron the two together.

Colour Reproduction

Linen (flax) is a natural fibre and not always uniform in texture and colour. Natural 100% Linen can have occasional ‘slubs’ in the weave which are not faults but characteristic of the fibre.

While every effort is taken to ensure the colour reproduction of our fabric card, catalogue or website is accurate as possible, we cannot guarantee a 100% colour match. Fabric swatches are available upon request. We strongly recommend that you request swatches prior to making your fabric order as fabric is non-returnable after being cut.

Stains

Ideally, as soon as something is spilt on your lovely white linen tablecloth you should soak it using a good detergent. This could be inconvenient in the middle of dinner – just remember to soak the linen as soon as possible. Never throw salt on red wine stains as this will fix it in place. You could however dilute the red wine by pouring a little white wine or water on it – then soak it.

Shrinkage

Some of our linen will shrink by about 4% after the first wash – we have factored this into all our sizing. If you buy our ready to hang curtains remember to either wash them before you hem them or allow for the 4% shrinkage when hemming. And likewise our fabric should also be washed before you make anything with it (or allow for 4% shrinkage).

Pilling

Pilling will happen over time and all fabrics pill to some extent. The cause of pilling is abrasion. The fibres simply get damaged by friction and abrasion through either wear and tear, or whilst being washed.

Tips to avoid pilling (or shedding) whilst washing

• Wash items inside out
• Use a fabric softener in the washer or dryer to lubricate the fibres
• Don’t put your items in the dryer. Line dry and light iron if you need it.