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How to Care for Linen – Making it Last for Years to Come
Caring for linen items is easy and in fact — linen gets softer and better with age and use.
We often get questions about how to care for linen products. We get it, there seems to be a lot of misconceptions about how to care for this material, so let us help you out!
Please note that it's always important to check the fabric content and care instructions on each specific piece! This is a guide on how to care for your linen pieces from our brand specifically, but can be generally applied to other linen products.
Washing
Our linen items can be hand or machine washed. You can wash your linen pieces with other like-weighted items; separated into the appropriate color loads. We recommend washing in a cold or low-temperature on a gentle cycle. Avoid detergents with harsh chemicals, and never use bleach as it can weaken the fibers and cause discoloration.
Nearly all of our products are pre-washed to help prevent additional shrinkage and to kickstart the softening process. With that being said we recommend dry cleaning your linen items if they are a more tailored garment like our lined Jackets and Coats as they have not been pre-washed. The linen would shrink at a different rate than the cotton lining.
Treating Stains
You can spot treat mishaps with a stain remover, just avoid products that contain bleach. We happened to come across our new favourtie stain remover when we had a mishap in our studio. Blue dish soap is our go-to stain fighter! Just rub a bit of it into your stain and then throw in the wash.
Drying
For drying you have a few options — dryer, hang-to-dry, or laying flat on a towel. We personally love using the dryer on a low tumble setting as it helps soften the linen and won't get stiff, like when it has been hung to air-dry. Linen has excellent moisture absorbing properties, and therefor dries quite quickly. So it can be put on a shorter dry time than most expect. You can pop it out of the drier when it's still slightly damp to hang to dry and it will help minimize wrinkles.
Ironing & Steaming
This is a personal choice. High quality linen is wrinkly; and that is part of its natural beauty and charm. So embrace it! However if you are really wanting an item pressed — use an iron on medium heat with a steam function, or while it's still damp from washing, and iron from the reverse side. Garment steamers are also great for giving linen a pristine look.
We also love using the easy steamy shower hack. Hang your item in the bathroom while you run a shower and the steam will help soften wrinkles. We find this trick especially useful when travelling! (Or just when you don't want to pull an ironing board out.)
Linen Spray
Our hack for keeping things fresh at home while forgoing the entire laundering cycle. Spritz to soften wrinkles on your garments and bed linens. Essential oils provide a comforting scent while antiseptic properties tackle bacteria.
This is also another great way freshen up a suitcase full of natural fibres while travelling.
DIY Linen Spray
The quantities in this recipe are very general, and make for a fairly strong linen spray. You can water these ingredients down by doing two parts of water or tweak as desired. If we need to fill our linen spray bottle and happen to be out of fabric conditioner, we just use more water instead. A simple linen spray can even be made from just water and vodka if you are looking for a simple, scentless way to squash some wrinkles with humidity.
As for the essential oils — the three listed in our recipe are some of our favourites. Feel at liberty to use your own combination. There are many different lovely oil combos that will work. The quantity of drops used does not have to be exact and is more up to your personal preference. It also depends on how large of a bottle that you are filling. We suggest starting small, you can always add more drops if you want a stronger scent. If you don't have essential oils...no sweat! The linen spray will still be effective without the use of the essential oils.
If you decided to use a fabric conditioner in your recipe, be sure to go with a natural brand that isn't full of undesirable ingredients or opt to make your own!
RECIPE:
1/2 part vodka
1 part water
1/2 part vinegar
1/4 part fabric conditioner (optional)
30 drops lavender essential oil
30 drops lemon essential oil
25 drops cedar wood essential oil
DIRECTIONS:
- Add vodka and the essential oils in a spray bottle, and give it a shake. We recommend allowing the oils and vodka to sit for around 15 minutes so the scents have a chance to combine. Shake again.
- Add water, vinegar, and fabric condition (if desired). The quantities do not have to be exact.
- Cap the bottle and shake.
- Use the spray on any natural fibre as desired. Be sure to shake the bottle well before each use.
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