Caring for old Precious Linens

If you are like me, you have tons of old linens you've picked up here and there over the years. I bet I have more than a hundred pieces of embroidered dresser scarves, tablecloths, napkins, doilies, etc. The thing is - I've picked them for little or nothing because they were wrinkled, dirty or had light stains. Today, I stumbled across some great ideas for restoring these beautiful linens to their former glory. I grabbed this right off of eBay in the research area. Man, have I ever been doing things WRONG!

Here's the article:

Care of Antique and Vintage Linens

This section is meant to help get you started or to help give you new ideas. We welcome additional tips, comments and any contributions on the subject.

The key thing to remember when dealing with older textiles I to be gentle. Old linen fibers are old and hence can be weaker and prone to damage. You will mostly want to hand-wash, although your washing machine can sometimes help avoid the heavy labor and work this imposes. Do not try to rush the process and be patient; it can take days to obtain results. Some textiles have had decades to accumulate dirt and soil!

Supplies to have on hand

1. Soap flakes or a very gentle detergent, Q-tips, large soft towels, a large container, clothespins; Biz (use sparingly and only where applicable to your particular situation); Lingerie bag(s) - especially useful for fringed items, silks, delicate laces and embroidery

2. Ribbon (to help avoid tangling fringes, make sure it's white or cream)

3. Gloves (to protect your hands)

4. Specialty products and stain removers as needed.

General stains and yellowing:

1. Start by soaking the item in a mixture of Biz (if desired) and a gentle detergent (Dreft, Orvus Quilt Soap, laundry flakes). Soaking is important and should not be skipped. Dry and brittle fibers benefit from water and from immersion.

2. Soak up to 2-3 days if you can and as needed. Use the washer, and replace the water regularly. Just drain the water, spin a few seconds to get rid of excess, and put more in. Do not spin or use the machine for very old and delicate pieces. 

3.  For delicate items, use a container and wash gently, stirring with a spoon.

4. Rinse, rinse, rinse. Better too much than not enough. Remove items from water. Be gentle since at this stage the linens are very fragile. If the piece is heavy, support it with bot2h hands, or get help. Do not let large pieces just hang down.

5. Place linens on a towel and start patting dry. Do not squeeze. Roll gently into a towel. Place item flat, on a towel or white sheet. Especially if you are using the outdoors, a white sheet will help reflect the sunshine available. If will also protect your linen from grass stains and worse. Grass fields in Europe were known in the old days as the 'bleaching fields'.

6. Dry items in sunshine if available. Even in winter, with a weak sun, outside drying is great. We do not recommend the dryer since it makes linens grayish and dulls them. Never use the clothesline for anything large and/or heavy. Sheets (especially linen), quilts, bedspreads and the like have to dry flat. Putting them on a line will damage them by stretching them out of shape and result in major damage.

7. If you really must use a dryer because of where you live or because it's -20F outside, try using some of the special dryer sachets available. Also try to remember to remove the linens before they are completely dry t make ironing easier. Do not use the dryer if there are still stains and spots left on the piece. If at all possible, only use the dryer as a last resort and when you are absolutely sure an item is 100% clean and well rinsed. Use the lowest heat setting and take items out as soon as the excess water is removed. Try to never use the dryer for anything that has to lie flat since it will distort them.

Ironing.

1. Not everyone's favorite job but it truly can be therapeutic and a pleasure. Make sure you have a good quality iron and that it is perfectly clean.

2. Try to get to your ironing when the linens are still damp (even a bit wetter than damp). This makes the job easier and the results will be better. Hand ironing can be relaxing at a leisurely pace, in front of television for example.

3. Iron on a clean, smooth surface. Use a large white soft towel if you are ironing embroidery, and place the piece face down, so the embroidery does not get flattened. Use the correct setting, and work slowly from one end to the next. Fold or place item on a hanger, and let it sit until bone-dry (it's not quite dry even after ironing). Ironing an item that has been out in the sun can be a true pleasure. It smells so nice!

4. You can enhance the experience by using scented linen water. Only use starch if you will be using the linens, not storing them (see below). Roll tablecloths and large items (e.g. sheets) if storing them, to avoid stress on the creases.

What to do if washing is not enough?

If there are stubborn stains left, here are the things we recommend. Be especially cautious when working with any colored linens, and do spot testing where appropriate to make sure the attempted cure is not worse than the problem.

Here is an overview of the most common problems and what to do:

1. Rust. Sometimes rust is not actually rust. There are real rust sport of course, caused by metal and water coming in contact with fibers. Humid environments are very damaging to linens. The other 'rust' is simply a storage problem. Not rust at all. Usually a gentle soak, maybe followed by a treatment with one of the products below, will be enough, unless your item has already been so damaged by these spots that they degrade even further. You do not have anything to lose at this point by trying to get the spots out anyway.

2. Yellowing, brown smudges, and stains. Caused by storage, wood, age, humidity and more. Can be especially noticeable in folds. A good soak followed by one of the products below for more stubborn stains, will usually do the trick.

3. Ink. Special ink removers are available if a simple soak and spot treatment does not work. Vinegar can be useful as can hairspray. Spot test first.

4. Pieces where the dye has run are not necessarily ruined. It requires patience and some elbow grease but they can be saved. If the run is recent, Ritt makes an Excess Dye Remover. However it is not appropriate for all pieces, nor will it always work. If the piece is going to be trashed anyway, you can try bleach with a very weak solution of bleach and water and a Q-Tip. Do not do this unless the item would be thrown away otherwise. Rinse thoroughly and use vinegar n the rinse to help neutralize the bleach. Last resort only!

Stain removal products and tips/tricks

1. A mixture of lemon juice and water and let the item dry in the sun. Don't ever do this for long and always rinse thoroughly afterwards since lemon juice is acidic. Don't do this on very old and delicate pieces. Same with vinegar. Both work well but require caution. These 2 tricks work well with 'rust' so try these before anything more drastic.

2. One of the best products available for linens is Restoration made by Engleside Products and available through our store. We cannot recommend this product enough; it is truly great. Follow the directions carefully, and never use it on silk (most of our tips do not apply to silk, the only product for that is LeBlanc's Silk and Lingerie wash or a good dry cleaner).

3. Another very good line of products is Linen Wash. The LeBlanc series smells good and works even better. 

4. An old family recipe for many Europeans is as follows: to whiten yellowed linens, soak them for 48 hours in a solution of ½ cup sea salt per 1 gallon of water. Rinse carefully and then dry in the sun if possible, on a flat surface.

A few words of caution

1. Avoid bleach and products with bleach and optical whiteners. They will damage your items more than they will help them. Bleach destroys fibers by weakening them and generally the damage is not worth the results.

2. Do not starch items that will be stored away. Only starch if you are going to use them soon. Starch attracts little bugs known as silverfish. They will feast on it and eat the fabric too!

3. Fold items carefully if storing them, and refold often if storing them so that the fold lines don't weaken the fibers. Store in a dark dry closet (remember the sun bleaches). Never allow linens to come into direct contact with wood and make sure they are stored in a dry place. If you can, store them in acid-free materials, rolled up in the paper and in a cardboard box (acid-free). 

4. Also, do not store your linens in plastic bins or in anything plastic. Linens and textile in generals need to breathe.

 Good luck! I'll be trying this process on some lines I have this weekend.

GOD DID NOT DESIGN THE RAINBOW TO REPRESENT HOMOSEXUALITY

There is something that has been weighing on me for some time. Do you ever have those things that you just know God is telling you to say but for whatever reason (chicken, busy, etc.) you ignore it? Well, that's what I've been doing about this.
The rainbow was given to God's followers as a PROMISE. That promise was that he would never destroy the earth with water again. This promise is found in Genesis 9:8-17: Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud (rainbow), and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."  Whew... do you think he wanted to emphasize who this covenant was with?  

So, what's my issue? My issue - the word issue seems a little mild - my outrage (much better) is that the Christian community has stood back and allowed the symbol given by God to remind us of His first promise to be used by the homosexual community to represent themselves. Think about it. What do you think of when you see a rainbow sticker on a car? You automatically think "that person must be gay". We've allowed ourselves to become afraid of using the rainbow for ourselves because of what the world will think. What's really said is that we have become so conditioned by the world that when we see a rainbow the first thing we think is that it represents homosexuality. NO! NO! NO! The first thing we should think is that represents God's promise. How sad....

I believe we as Christians should TAKE THE RAINBOW BACK. Let the homosexual community use a symbol that is offensive to God because that is what homosexuality is - it is offensive to God. Did you know that homosexuality is the only sin that God calls an abomination? That is because it goes against His created order. I don't understand the lax attitude toward homosexuality. Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying these people should be stoned, harassed or even shunned. God still loves them and so should we. He just doesn't love the act.

Believe me, I know how far right this opinion is and I'm I'll stand right on the far right side edge. I believe I'll be standing right next to God. For those who have convinced themselves that this lifestyle is somehow OK, let me tell you what the Bible has to say about it. In Romans 1:18-28,32 the Bible speaks about man's unrighteousness and how he gives their minds over to depravity. I'll begin in verse 21 "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. (vs 32) Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them."

I've said all of this to say this - I believe God is very disappointed in those who belong to Him because we have allowed His sacred symbol to become the symbol for something that He despises. So, how might we take the rainbow back? Honestly, I don't know other than speaking about it. Maybe someone could come up with a sticker / sign for our yards, cars, whatever else that is a rainbow with the words "TAKE BACK THE RAINBOW". At least it would cause people to ask what it means and you best be ready to answer! :-) 1 Peter 3:14 says "But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."

Upcycled Thrift Store Find

My daughter bought this shirt at the Goodwill a few years ago but has never worn it for some reason. I think it is an adorable shirt with more detail than I would ever sew myself!

Here is the front of the blouse...

And here is the back. All of those cute little buttons down the back - I LOVE the detail!

I found this cute rose fabric trim at Hobby Lobby. It was a bit pricey at $6.99 a yard but I had my cool 40% off coupon so I used it on this.

The trim is sewn on a mesh or tule type background. I decided to trim away a little of the extra so it wouldn't show.

I added the rose trim to the front top and across the waist. I ended up hand sewing it on. I was going to use the zipper foot on my machine and sew it but it was hard to do and not sew over the roses so I figured I could hand sew it in the time it was taking to do on the machine.

I also had an old pin I picked up at a yard sale that I pinned to front. Jen can take it off when she puts the top in the washer.

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a math person and something about the top wasn't balanced at this point. I decided to add some white lace around the bottom just to keep the ecru and white theme balanced. This was lace I got a yard sale for .45 for a whole sack!

And here is the finished product. I realize this blouse could use a good ironing but I KNOW my daughter would never iron it again so if I send it to her pressed, she might not wear it again after it is washed. So, this way, after it washes, it will be just like it was before! Jedi daughter trick.

As always, I love your comments!

Closet Lingerie Hanger "Fix-up"

I found this really cute Lingerie holder at my wonderful Thrift Store for $2.99. It is made very well and in perfect condition. It just needs a little fluffing (girly) added.

Wow. $2.99!

I recently scored this partial role of ribbon roses in Hobby Lobby's clearance section. Got several yards for around $4.

Even though the pink of the roses was a little different than the pink edges of the hanger, I was sure they would go fine together. I clipped the roses off of the ribbon and sewed one at each corner including on the back.

That amounted to about 10 roses but it only took about an hour to do the whole project. The back side also has 4 large pockets.

I decided that the hanger part really needed some fluff too. I added a large piece of pink ribbon and dug through my stash of jewelry pieces and found one clip on earring that was a cameo. It fit the mood I was after perfectly! I clipped the earring on the ribbon and then sewed a few stitches to make sure it stayed in place and laid right.

I have an Etsy shop as well as a little space in our local Antique Mall in downtown McKinney so I took the time to stuff a bit of pink tissue paper in each pocket and added some fresh linen scent.

Here's one final look. I would love to keep this but I'm just not the type of chick that has anything to put in it!

Trash Shade into Unique Treasure

My wonderful friends at the Bear Market in downtown McKinney, TX gave me a much needed lampshade. If you follow my future blogs (this is my first crafty blog) you will see that I buy very little “new” stuff. I love to make do with what I have, what I can find at a garage sale or the Thrift store. By the way, McKinney has the most awesome thrift store I have ever shopped at!

I had this cool spongeware lamp that had no shade. I really don’t like most new lampshades or what you can purchase at the store not to mention the ridiculous price you have to pay for them! So, I decided to take the trashy shade that had the lining torn up and turn it into the perfect complement for my lamp.

We recently retrieved our furniture from storage and now I’m trying to put together my prim household. I just know this lamp will be perfect with a little assistance. Here is a picture of my lamp with the trashy shade.

The lining was torn so I went ahead and ripped the rest of it out leaving the seams around the edges that hold it all together.

I wrapped the shade with a piece of leftover lightweight denim. This is just a "play with it" process. I put just a few pins in until I can tell what fabric I need and then I cut the rest off leaving enough to tuck under for a neat finish.

My denim (and later lace) was a bit wrinkled so I whipped out my handy dandy ironing board that fits on my sewing table. I HATE dragging out the big ironing board for a little project.

After ironing the denim I put it back over the shade and pinned it in place. You can NEVER use too many pins! I've noticed one little issue I'm going to have to deal with shortly. My fabric doesn't overlap much at the top edge where the seams come together. I know its all going to be covered with lace later so I think I can make it work.

More fitting and pinning. This is a very important step!

Ok, all pinned up. Now, I put it back on the lamp to make sure the final look is what I had in mind and so far, so good! I think its gonna be great!

Here's that little boo-boo I mentioned. My lamp is going to be a head level in a corner so I know no one will see it and I think I can mostly cover it with lace.

I had enough fabric to tuck under the edges about an inch or so.

Now, I know just how it will look finished.

Time to trim off the edges and get the glue gun plugged in and ready! I slightly lifted the seams all around and hot glued them in place. This goes for the inside edges too. I'm not too worried about the edges because I plan to cover those with lace.

I hate for rough edges to show so I had a little lace strip I decided to glue to the base and the top of the lamp over the seam edge (after I had glued the edge to the lampshade). Since my lamp will be a bit high in the room, I know someone sitting on the sofa could probably see under the shade so I want the edges to be pretty.

Glue, glue, glue! Looks so pretty when finished.

Now comes the fun part! I have 2 big drawers of lace and doilies. Time to try some on. Again, get out the pins. Its much easier to undo pins than undo glue when you don't like the final look!

Here's my first try. I'm really not feeling it so I took it all off.

Much better! I had originally planned to cover the entire shade with lace but decided that this works just as well and why waste my precious lace on the back of a shade that no one will ever see. :-)

I can't seem to figure out when to stop. I usually have to just yell at myself "ENOUGH"! I actually messed it up a bit because I added 4 vintage buttons to the little whirlies in the center but they looked really stupid. Oh, I should also mention I GLUED them on and then when I started pulling them off, my vintage buttons fell apart in my hand. sniff, sniff...

So, I had this little pink rose doiley I had cut up to apply the little rose parts to a little girl's dress. I had a few left over so I put one in the center to cover my glue gob from my mistake. I also had a crystal button which I put right in the center. Added a few more buttons and then had the "ENOUGH' yell and called it good.

Here is my lamp in its forever (for now) home. I really like how it turned out.

A close up of the finished shade.