Wash and Care for Linen, Linen Blends and Lace
- For fringed towels, secure fringe together using a hair band. A washing net can also be used to protect the fringe.
- Machine wash on a gentle cycle in like colors using a cooler temperature of 86°F/30°C or no higher than warm at maximum of 104°F/40°C.
- Use a gentle detergent. We’ve used Le Blanc’s Linen Wash for many years. It is gentle on fine linens.
- Do not bleach or use fabric softeners.
- Remove linens as soon as possible from the washer to avoid excess wrinkles.
- Do not tumble dry. It is best not to tumble dry linen as this can over dry the fibers and make ironing more difficult. Adding a short (10 minute) air dry cycle in the dryer right after removing from the wash is also fine for non-delicate towels, runners, placemats, or napkins. While it is still damp, remove from air drying and follow the remaining steps. We do not recommend putting any delicate items, such as lace or linen handkerchiefs/pocket squares in the dryer. Lay flat to dry or if it is a larger item, hang over a rod or line. If you smooth the wrinkles out with your hands at this point, then pressing becomes even easier. As always, please first read the manufacturer label where applicable.
- Always iron linen when slightly damp as this is the ideal time to press them. Iron on the underside (reverse side) using medium heat or the iron linen setting. In replacement of an iron, textile steamers are excellent for pressing/removing wrinkles from linen. If the linen has already dried out before ironing, use a water spray to re-dampen it (works great) – a good steam iron will work best on linen.
- For delicate lace products, we recommend hand washing with delicate detergent and then lying flat to dry.
- For delicate lace and linen handkerchiefs, we recommend washing on a delicate cycle using a washing net or using procedures in step above for ‘delicate lace products’.
- For embroidered products, it is best not to iron directly on the front-side of the embroidered embellishment (you don’t want to ‘flatten it’). You can do so gently from the backside of the linen. You may wish to iron the product on top of a terry towel so that the front side embroidered embellishment can softly lay between the towel versus flattening on a harder surface underneath.
- For hand rolled hem handkerchiefs or pocket squares, avoid ironing directly on the hand-rolled hem so as not to flatten out this beautiful hem.
The rustica, linen cotton blends, and pure linen will soften as it is washed.
