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Collecting Vintage Linens

© Barbara Nicholson Bell

I have strong memories of my mother spending hours at an ironing board, pressing the dozen damask napkins and the heavy matching tablecloth, in preparation for a holiday dinner. It was a labor of love, because she hated to iron! These had been handed down by her mother to her, and now I own them.

If you are of my generation, you will remember the tremendous joy we felt when "permanent press" was invented! Few of us need to iron any table linens any more, so if you are a collector of vintage fabrics and "linens" (a generic term for several fabrics for domestic use) you will know that the ironing must, indeed, be a labor of love.

Ironing is, of course, only one aspect of caring for aged fabrics. As you explore the flea markets and garage sales for old hankies, napkins, aprons, antimacassars, dresser scarves, tablecloths, or baby clothes, you will find most are very fragile. Those antique dealers who specialize in vintage linens usually have removed stains as much as possible and carefully pressed the items so they will look more attractive to buyers. However, you will probably find most items at garage sales and other casual venues will not have been so carefully handled.

When you find an item you might like to purchase, take these steps first:

• Ask, if you can, how the item has been stored. Was it put away in a cedar chest for decades? Has it been in constant use? If something has been folded for many years, the fabric along the creases will be more fragile than other parts. It may also have discolored along the creases.
• Determine what fabric it is. Cotton, linen and wool are natural materials which attract insects and are affected by sunlight, which not only fades colors but can weaken the fabric. More "modern" fabrics such as rayon or nylon, introduced in the early years of the 20th century, may not have the same kind of deterioration, but suffer their own problems. Treating the fabric for stains will be different, depending on the fabric.
• Look for rips, holes, frayed edges, missing fringe, or old repairs. With rare exceptions, trying to fix these problems will not be worth your effort. The exceptions are: something so old or so rare as to be an heirloom, and even with the damage (which you WON'T repair) it is of great value; or, you intend to use the item in another way which isn't affected by the damage, such as using an intact portion of a pattern as a curtain border, or making it into a pillow front, or as pieces of a quilt, etc.