Care

Linen improves with washing. It is the rare cloth that gets better by being used, and very little you do in a normal wash will hurt it.

Washing

Machine wash cold on a normal cycle with a mild detergent. Leave out the fabric softener. It coats the fibre and stops linen doing the one thing linen does on its own, which is soften.

Wash strong colours separately for the first two or three washes. Indigo, black and burnt orange carry loose dye at the start.

Drying

Line dry in the shade. Direct sun will pull the colour out of a deep shade over a season. You can tumble dry on low if you need to, and take it out while it is still a little damp.

Ironing

Iron on the linen setting while the cloth is damp, or do not iron at all. Creases are what linen looks like. If you want it crisp, press it on the reverse.

Shrinking

Our linen is washed before it is cut, so it has already done most of its shrinking. Expect a little more in the first wash and nothing much after that.

Stains

Treat them cold and treat them quickly. Hot water sets a stain into linen.

Storing

Fold it into a drawer. Linen does not need a hanger, and unlike wool it does not attract moths. If you are putting a piece away for a season, make sure it is clean first. A mark left in the cloth will darken over time.

Over the years

The cloth softens and the colour settles. A piece looks better in its third year than in its first month. That is the whole argument for buying linen.