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Posted by Polly Esther on June 18, 2009, 11:48 pm
I came upon a terrific buy on lovely handkerchief-weight linen. It's
wonderful for receiving blankets because it is, of course, so very durable.
OTOH, before washing it has a very 'crisp' finish. Stitching fine linen is
a real treat but I need to make it soft and sweet for the preemie babies I
stitch for. I'm wondering if there's some magic formula such as hot water
and vinegar that would tame it. Any thoughts? Polly
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Posted by NightMist on June 19, 2009, 1:45 am
On Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:48:41 -0500, "Polly Esther"
show/hide quoted text
>I came upon a terrific buy on lovely handkerchief-weight linen. It's
>wonderful for receiving blankets because it is, of course, so very durable.
>OTOH, before washing it has a very 'crisp' finish. Stitching fine linen is
>a real treat but I need to make it soft and sweet for the preemie babies I
>stitch for. I'm wondering if there's some magic formula such as hot water
>and vinegar that would tame it. Any thoughts? Polly
Linen is crisp because of natural waxes in the fiber, plus whatever
they may have finished the fabric with. Removing the waxes entirely
reduces it's durability by a lot, but you can remove just enough to
soften it a bit. Wash it in hot water a couple of times, if you have
any synthropol you might only need to wash it once. I discovered that
a hot wash with synthrapol on fresh batiks eliminates the need to boil
them, so I am assuming that it would work well for softening linen.
A thin linen softens more easily than a heavy one regardless, so a
couple of regular hot washes should set you up any road.
NightMist
--
Legolas is my house elf
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Posted by Kate XXXXXX on June 21, 2009, 12:56 pm
NightMist wrote:
show/hide quoted text
> On Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:48:41 -0500, "Polly Esther"
>
>> I came upon a terrific buy on lovely handkerchief-weight linen. It's
>> wonderful for receiving blankets because it is, of course, so very durable.
>> OTOH, before washing it has a very 'crisp' finish. Stitching fine linen is
>> a real treat but I need to make it soft and sweet for the preemie babies I
>> stitch for. I'm wondering if there's some magic formula such as hot water
>> and vinegar that would tame it. Any thoughts? Polly
> Linen is crisp because of natural waxes in the fiber, plus whatever
> they may have finished the fabric with. Removing the waxes entirely
> reduces it's durability by a lot, but you can remove just enough to
> soften it a bit. Wash it in hot water a couple of times, if you have
> any synthropol you might only need to wash it once. I discovered that
> a hot wash with synthrapol on fresh batiks eliminates the need to boil
> them, so I am assuming that it would work well for softening linen.
> A thin linen softens more easily than a heavy one regardless, so a
> couple of regular hot washes should set you up any road.
>
> NightMist
I have in my posession a chemise made from linen with a laundry mark of
1886. It's a bit ragged under the arms, but washing in those days
consisted of boiling the things to death in a solution of washing soda,
and then scrubbing them on a rough board with a bristle brush. It's
almost as soft as silk.
My mother has a linen table cloth that is almost as venerable and shows
no sigh of wear despite her giving it a boil wash in her front loader
every time she used it for 20 years... She ironed it hot while still
slightly damp to restore crispness, and it never needed starching.
I don't think you need to worry about durability.
Boil wash it a couple of times, and tumble dry on hot. Then iron it
while still slightly damp. This will restore the crispness for sewing
accuracy, as well as shrinking it... Once made, you could wash and
tumble dry again, smoothing flat while hot out of the dryer. This
should leave it much softer.
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!
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Posted by NightMist on June 23, 2009, 5:17 pm
On Sun, 21 Jun 2009 17:56:26 +0100, Kate XXXXXX
show/hide quoted text
>I have in my posession a chemise made from linen with a laundry mark of
>1886. It's a bit ragged under the arms, but washing in those days
>consisted of boiling the things to death in a solution of washing soda,
>and then scrubbing them on a rough board with a bristle brush. It's
>almost as soft as silk.
>My mother has a linen table cloth that is almost as venerable and shows
>no sigh of wear despite her giving it a boil wash in her front loader
>every time she used it for 20 years... She ironed it hot while still
>slightly damp to restore crispness, and it never needed starching.
>I don't think you need to worry about durability.
If only modern linen were made the same way as your antiques! or as my
antiques for that matter. I have an embroidered linen tablecloth that
my great-grandmother made sometime before she married, that would make
it about 100 years old.
Unfortunately modern linen has fallen prey to that two faced monster
called mass production. Modern techniques all along the line, from
retting to weaving, combine to give a decidedly inferior product as
compared to the linen of old. I'll skip the details, about which I
can go on ad infinitum. A bit of research should turn them up easily
enough though.
show/hide quoted text
>Boil wash it a couple of times, and tumble dry on hot. Then iron it
>while still slightly damp. This will restore the crispness for sewing
>accuracy, as well as shrinking it... Once made, you could wash and
>tumble dry again, smoothing flat while hot out of the dryer. This
>should leave it much softer.
Like I said, a couple of hot washes should do it.
Boiling would have to be done by hand, but if the stuff is still too
stiff that would be the way.
NightMist
--
Legolas is my house elf
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Posted by Kate XXXXXX on June 30, 2009, 3:08 am
NightMist wrote:
show/hide quoted text
> On Sun, 21 Jun 2009 17:56:26 +0100, Kate XXXXXX
>
>> I have in my posession a chemise made from linen with a laundry mark of
>> 1886. It's a bit ragged under the arms, but washing in those days
>> consisted of boiling the things to death in a solution of washing soda,
>> and then scrubbing them on a rough board with a bristle brush. It's
>> almost as soft as silk.
>> My mother has a linen table cloth that is almost as venerable and shows
>> no sigh of wear despite her giving it a boil wash in her front loader
>> every time she used it for 20 years... She ironed it hot while still
>> slightly damp to restore crispness, and it never needed starching.
>> I don't think you need to worry about durability.
>
> If only modern linen were made the same way as your antiques! or as my
> antiques for that matter. I have an embroidered linen tablecloth that
> my great-grandmother made sometime before she married, that would make
> it about 100 years old.
> Unfortunately modern linen has fallen prey to that two faced monster
> called mass production. Modern techniques all along the line, from
> retting to weaving, combine to give a decidedly inferior product as
> compared to the linen of old. I'll skip the details, about which I
> can go on ad infinitum. A bit of research should turn them up easily
> enough though.
>> Boil wash it a couple of times, and tumble dry on hot. Then iron it
>> while still slightly damp. This will restore the crispness for sewing
>> accuracy, as well as shrinking it... Once made, you could wash and
>> tumble dry again, smoothing flat while hot out of the dryer. This
>> should leave it much softer.
>
> Like I said, a couple of hot washes should do it.
> Boiling would have to be done by hand, but if the stuff is still too
> stiff that would be the way.
>
> NightMist
I have found linen that is as fine and soft as some of the old stuff,
but jeez, you pay a ransome for it: arm, leg, good eye, and three
generations of off-spring! ;)
I have some Irish linen tea towels. They are soft and limp and
aborbant. They are, by the time they get like this, ragged at the
corners. Such a shame...
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!
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>wonderful for receiving blankets because it is, of course, so very durable.
>OTOH, before washing it has a very 'crisp' finish. Stitching fine linen is
>a real treat but I need to make it soft and sweet for the preemie babies I
>stitch for. I'm wondering if there's some magic formula such as hot water
>and vinegar that would tame it. Any thoughts? Polly