I am starting this discussion for those interested in finding out how to properly care for their linen collections and other textiles.

Please post any questions here, and I will be glad to answer you. I specialize in conservation & restoration of textiles, especially the care of linen objects. I am a member of the Irish Linen Guild and the Masters of Linen group.

It would be my pleasure to be of service to you
on this thread.

Linda Tomlin

Here's an area I know I need to learn more about. I guess the first fundamental question that comes to mind is 'cleaning'. I have some linens coming my way that I don't believe require any repair or restoration, but if I put them to use I will eventually have need to clean them. They are embroidered, with white/yellow/blue and dyed in a light turquoise green colour (but I don't have them in hand yet, they should arrive this week hopefully). Maybe you can give us a quick introduction, dos and dont's for cleaning. Thanks

Hi Stonecat:

My first thought about cleaning these linens will need some questions answered.
1. Do you know if the embroidery is "shiny" looks like silk, or more mat not alot of shine? If you have embroidery that is shiny it could very well be silk, but more than likely rayon. You will need to know if the embroidery is capable of bleeding.

If the embroidery is colorfast, which alot of it
was for practical reasons, then that is a help.

2. What color is the linen? If it has brown stains & or yellowing, this has been caused by
improper storage, such as cardboard boxes, wooden chests, without protection.

3. Check to make sure the linen does not have any permanent creases in them. If they do, you
may have deterioration that will cause the linen
to rip or shread at the crease, if washed.

4. Are there trims on the linens, such as old fragile lace, any fringes? The fringes cannot be washed. The lace might be able to be washed if it is in good condition, such as no fraying and no holes, and made of sturdy cotton or crochet. If not, then you don't want to wash the lace, it could deteriorate.

All that said, if you have a sturdy linen, with
good condition issues, you can wash your linen by BOILING it in distilled water with mild Ivory
soap, Orvis soap, fels naptha soap. Just a very small amount is needed in the boiling water.

Get a very large (spagetti stainless steel) pot, fill half with distilled water. Add very small amount of soap/ 1/2 teaspoon / place linen in the water, allow to boil in rolling water. Then, remove from heat, and let the linen soak in the water for 4 to 6 hours.

Carefully pour out the water from the pot when time is up, then, keep rinsing the linen in the pot until the water is clean, keeping the linen in the pot, (you don't want to handle the linen with all the water in it, it could rip or shred from the heavyness) take the pot with the rinsed
linen to the washer, dump it into the washer and
use the RINSE & SPIN CYCLE ONLY. Do not agitate
your linen. This gets all the water out of the linen.

Pull out the linen from the washer, it should look really clean, then use a white or light colored terry cloth towel and lay it out on top of the towel.

You will then need to either let the linen air dry, or you can take it to the ironing board or table and iron on the back side of the linen.
Keep a terry cloth towel under the linen while you iron. Use a good quality iron with no teflon ( teflon can have hot spots on it and can
cause scorching)

Always iron linens while still very damp straight out of the wash, you do not want to iron dry linens, the wrinkles are very difficult
to get out. If linens are not rinsed thoroughly,
the residue of soap can also cause scorching. Scorching can be removed by rewashing your linen.

The key to cleaning the old linens is to use soaps that do not have any bleaches or modern ingredients, these can destroy old textiles. These detergents are made for modern fabrics and
modern manufacturing has different finishes to the cloth than old textiles have.

This is a big subject, so ask any question you like.

Wow, great summary. I'll check it over thoroughly when I get my hands on it and see if I need to ask anything more. Thanks for the input

quote:

Originally posted by Terra Firma Linen:
I am starting this discussion for those interested in finding out how to properly care for their linen collections and other textiles.

Please post any questions here, and I will be glad to answer you. I specialize in conservation & restoration of textiles, especially the care of linen objects. I am a member of the Irish Linen Guild and the Masters of Linen group.

It would be my pleasure to be of service to you
on this thread.

Linda Tomlin

Hi Linda...I hope you are still answering some questions on this subject...i have a few vestment embroidaries...originally from germany i believe...bought from belgium from "sweet old nuns" who had amazing skills ....they had the task of making all the clothing thru the years for themselves and the priest.....i had gottan to know a woman who is a friend of the nuns and was selling out their boxes and boxes of storage...most was unfinished work ....wonderful items...such a variety of lace and needlework....i was told the nuns are all near to passing and there is no other young woman taking their place...no ladies to pass all this knowledge to...what a loss...something that was so common to be now just part of archives...anyways...i would like to preserve a couple of the pieces that are large embroidered designs...done on a fine silk satin....the needlework is still in tact...mostly silk and cotton threads...maybe rayon instead of silk?? as none are broken where the silk backing is shreaded in places and will shread more if it is touched to hard...what is the best way to preserve this...maybe in a frame as i would like to display them somehow(away from light)...should they be sprayed with anything to clean away any acids that are on it now???..i ask because they have been stored in boxes and were just sent to me in old tissue with very very old cardboard backing...i also have an old cotton velvet religious banner with a madonna painting on it that i want to do the same with...it is now in tissue...folded which i know is awful...can you help...thank you...i just cannot resist buying this stuff whe i see it....and i do want to respect it now that i do have it...diaphanous

Hello diaphanous:
Sorry for the delay in answering you about your textile collection. I think the best thing would be to have a look at the things.

I do restoration work for churches alot. Both vestments & altar linens. The best thing to do right away is to get the cardboard off and away from all the items. If you do not have access to acid free tissue and boxes, I would get some 100 % cotton pillow cases and some cotton muslim and gently wrap everything in it. This will at least stop any acid burns.

Everything needs to be completely examined before any real assessment can be made into how to clean restore repair etc.

You can give me a call at 757 259 9400 to discuss your collection, it could be worthwhile for you to preserve such rare textiles. I would be very glad to go over this with you in detail by phone, no charge for consultation.

I am on the Eastern Standard Time.

All the best,
Linda

,

Hi! I'm so glad to find you! I bought some linen damask from probably the turn of the century, which I cleaned with washing soda to get the stains out. I didn't realise that fringes shouldn't be washed, and so now they're stiff and tangled. I've tried brushing them to straighten them, but they have completely lost their glossy shine and flexibility. Is there anything I can do to salvage this?
-Ann

Ann:
I don't think you can do much except to use a metal brush, such as a pet brush for a long haired dog, brush gently through the fringes and then, since they probably are uneven now, clip them to even them out.

Next time you are going to wash the linens, care for the fringe imediately while wet. Otherwise they will continue to be ruined. If it's possible to detach the fringe, that would of course be the best.

All the best to you.
Linda

Ann:
Just another thought after rereading your question, you might try taking a spray bottle filling it with distilled water, wet the fringe and brush them out very carefully. Use a hair dryer set on warm and low setting and air dry them.
It certainly can't hurt them or make things worse at this point.

Linda

Thanks so much - I will definitely try this!