OT what do I have?

Have you boiled em in a WHITE Vinegar solution? and then let them set in it
overnight....curse you might have to take em outside after the boiling
process or your whole house will smell like you were making pickles ; )

Just make sure that gators don't think they're dessert., as they might get a
tad bit upset with you.
Butterfly (only thing I can think of)

"Polly Esther" wrote in message
hlink.net...
I love crisp table linens but these things give a new definition to
"crisp".
I offered them to DH to dry windshields and mirrors. Got rejected. He
says
they would scratch. They're in the dryer now after a good soak in fabric
softener. If that fails, I just might try boiling the rascals. Polly

"lloer" wrote in message
...

"Polly Esther" wrote in message
hlink.net...
I bought a stack of white linen beautiful hemstitched cloths. They
measure
about 24" square. They were at a salvage store and I thought I could
cover
the monogram on them with something, add some lace and send them to
one
of
the preemie crisis centers. They would be good for wee receiving
blankets
or
burial wraps - whatever the center needs them for.
They've been washed 4 times - quite roughly on the last run - and
I
still fail to get the crisp out of them. They feel smooth but very
starched.
Maybe I need to hand them to the butler to polish the crystal - but he
hasn't been here in a long time. My question really isn't "what do I
have?".
I think it's more like do you have any idea how to make them soft?
Polly



Besides using fabric conditioner, I've notice that cotton stuff is
softer
if
its tumble dried rather than air-dried. But it needs to be done each
time
its washed so that might not work.

It does sound like they're napkins, I love crisp linen napkins and
tablecloths...

Emma

"Polly Esther" skrev i meddelandet
hlink.net...
I bought a stack of white linen beautiful hemstitched cloths. . . My
question really isn't "what do I have?".
I think it's more like do you have any idea how to make them soft? Polly

Honey, ya need a mangle!!!

Of course, I think *everyone* needs a mangle. I honestly don't know how I
survived the nearly 30 years I lived in the U.S. without one. :-)

Erin

--
Erin Winslow

http://home.swipnet.se/~w-52319/erin1.htm

"Polly Esther" wrote in message
hlink.net...
Roberta, I'd be glad to just send them to you but you wouldn't have much
use
for them. Each of them has a mangled monogram. I suspect they went to the
salvage store from a beginner monogrammer at an extremely fine linens
retailer. There were also some huge pillow shams (with the monogram
disaster) that I turned into sweet little quilts. Our preacher was
laughing
this week about some of us being eagles and some being buzzards. I'm in
the
buzzard category. How I do love a great bargain. Polly


Well, in that case, maybe your napkins are extra stiff so they hold up well
to dabbing buzzard beaks?? They might be just the ticket after all!
chipper ;D

On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 03:48:44 GMT, "Polly Esther"
wrote:

I bought a stack of white linen beautiful hemstitched cloths. They measure
about 24" square. They were at a salvage store and I thought I could cover
the monogram on them with something, add some lace and send them to one of
the preemie crisis centers. They would be good for wee receiving blankets or
burial wraps - whatever the center needs them for.
They've been washed 4 times - quite roughly on the last run - and I
still fail to get the crisp out of them. They feel smooth but very starched.
Maybe I need to hand them to the butler to polish the crystal - but he
hasn't been here in a long time. My question really isn't "what do I have?".
I think it's more like do you have any idea how to make them soft? Polly

Sounds like you have actual factual linen there.
Sometimes it is blended with ramie or tencel or cotton these days, but
if it is _very_ stiff and stays that way after washing I'll bet it's
plain linen.

They sound like napkins. Very good quality napkins.

Flax is a very long fiber, that is part of what makes the fabric
stiff. The other part is there is a natural wax in flax that does not
come out with standard washing. Boiling linen (which will not hurt
the fabric at all) will remove some of the wax and make the fabric
softer.
It may work best to stitch them to some flannel even after you soften
them up a bit. Table linen is not known for it's kindness to skin so
much as it's astounding durability.

NightMist
--
"It's such a gamble when you get a face"
- Richard Hell

Chipper, how in the world did your mama get you raised? You're a sight, you
know that? Polly

"Chipper" wrote in message
. com...

"Polly Esther" wrote in message
hlink.net...
Roberta, I'd be glad to just send them to you but you wouldn't have much
use
for them. Each of them has a mangled monogram. I suspect they went to
the
salvage store from a beginner monogrammer at an extremely fine linens
retailer. There were also some huge pillow shams (with the monogram
disaster) that I turned into sweet little quilts. Our preacher was
laughing
this week about some of us being eagles and some being buzzards. I'm in
the
buzzard category. How I do love a great bargain. Polly


Well, in that case, maybe your napkins are extra stiff so they hold up
well
to dabbing buzzard beaks?? They might be just the ticket after all!
chipper ;D

"Polly Esther" wrote in message
hlink.net...
I bought a stack of white linen beautiful hemstitched cloths.
snip
They've been washed 4 times - quite roughly on the last run - and I
still fail to get the crisp out of them.

Mom's real linens are still "crisp" after 40 odd years of washing. Seems to
be the nature of the beast.

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
longarm machine quilting, Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply

The end of the story - I tried the fabric softener and gave them a long soak
in hot water. That wasn't a solution I wanted to try because, naturally,
swamp water, even with lots of fancy filtering systems, is still swamp
water. They are not snow white anymore but they are soft enough to use.
Since the "white" had to be sacrificed, I am trimming them with a pile of
antique lace. Note to self: pass up the real linen dinner napkins unless you
are planning to serve roast goose. Polly

"Kathy Applebaum" wrote in message
. com...

"Polly Esther" wrote in message
hlink.net...
I bought a stack of white linen beautiful hemstitched cloths.
snip
They've been washed 4 times - quite roughly on the last run - and I
still fail to get the crisp out of them.

Mom's real linens are still "crisp" after 40 odd years of washing. Seems
to
be the nature of the beast.

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
longarm machine quilting, Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply

Well, you could use cotton with the goose, as long as the napkins are big
enough!
Roberta in D

"Polly Esther" wrote in message
hlink.net...
The end of the story - I tried the fabric softener and gave them a long
soak
in hot water. That wasn't a solution I wanted to try because, naturally,
swamp water, even with lots of fancy filtering systems, is still swamp
water. They are not snow white anymore but they are soft enough to use.
Since the "white" had to be sacrificed, I am trimming them with a pile of
antique lace. Note to self: pass up the real linen dinner napkins unless
you
are planning to serve roast goose. Polly

"Kathy Applebaum" wrote in message
. com...

"Polly Esther" wrote in message
hlink.net...
I bought a stack of white linen beautiful hemstitched cloths.
snip
They've been washed 4 times - quite roughly on the last run - and
I
still fail to get the crisp out of them.

Mom's real linens are still "crisp" after 40 odd years of washing. Seems
to
be the nature of the beast.

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
longarm machine quilting, Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply

NightMist wrote:
On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 03:48:44 GMT, "Polly Esther"
wrote:


I bought a stack of white linen beautiful hemstitched cloths. They measure
about 24" square.
They've been washed 4 times - quite roughly on the last run - and I
still fail to get the crisp out of them. They feel smooth but very starched.

Sounds like you have actual factual linen there.

What NightMist said. Try soaking them until they are drippy wet,
squeezing most of the water out of them, sticking them in a plastic bag,
and then freezing them solid. Thaw and see what you have. Theory is that
the fibers will soften up a little with this abuse.

liz young in sunny california

On Fri, 05 Mar 2004 01:14:22 GMT, Elizabeth Young
wrote:

NightMist wrote:
On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 03:48:44 GMT, "Polly Esther"
wrote:
I bought a stack of white linen beautiful hemstitched cloths. They measure
about 24" square.
They've been washed 4 times - quite roughly on the last run - and I
still fail to get the crisp out of them. They feel smooth but very starched.

Sounds like you have actual factual linen there.

What NightMist said. Try soaking them until they are drippy wet,
squeezing most of the water out of them, sticking them in a plastic bag,
and then freezing them solid. Thaw and see what you have. Theory is that
the fibers will soften up a little with this abuse.

And if NightMist had been thinking, she would have said to give
synthrapol a shot.
Synthrapol removes the organic gums and resins from silk and plays
merry hob with the wax in batiks. So it likely would take out a fair
bit of the natural wax found in flax fibers, thus softening the linen.

NightMist

NightMist
--
"It's such a gamble when you get a face"
- Richard Hell