Linen Teatowels disappointment

ripplyuk

My granny and a few others have mentioned how nice linen teatowels are compared to the usual cheap ones, which is what I had. She also said they are lint-free (which I don't really understand but it sounded good). Mine were quite worn out anyway so I decided to splash out a bit and bought three linen ones which were hugely expensive compared to just getting more Poundland types.

I've just checked the labels on them and it says '100% Cotton'. Shouldn't it say 'Linen'? They are different plants. Does this mean they aren't true linen like my granny talked about? Have I bought the wrong thing or all they all Cotton now?

Also, they aren't absorbent. I've tried washing and tumble drying them but they still aren't as absorbent as the cheapie ones. I feel like they've been a waste of money. Do they get more absorbent eventually?

Pollycat

From Wikipedia:

Textiles in a linen weave texture, even when made of cotton, hemp and other non-flax fibers, are also loosely referred to as "linen". Such fabrics generally also have their own specific names, for example fine cotton yarn in a linen-style weave is called Madapolam.

I have various items of clothing that are labelled as 100% linen or 100% cotton and there is a difference in the feel of the fabric.

If the care label says 100% cotton, where did it state 100% linen?

If I'd bought something that said it was 100%linen, that's what I'd expect it to say on the care label.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

1. Don't use fabric softener in the wash, as that coats the fibres and makes them resistant to moisture.

2. Lint free means you don't get little bits of fibre over things. They don't trap hair, dust or anything else, so a glass wiped with linen looks clean, not in need of a wash. It also means you can use them for such things as covering bread dough whilst it's proving, steaming a Christmas or Pease Pudding, an emergency filter for food, taking water out of grated potato for rosti/hash browns, or for cleaning your glasses and actually making them look cleaner, rather than covering everything with tiny bits of cloth and dust.

3. They can be boiled with impunity. No need to chuck them away and buy another packet from the pound shop or cross your fingers when they're in the washing machine.

4. Real linen gets softer and softer over the years - and it will last donkeys' years. That's why old tablecloths go for so much money - the quality, strength and weave of the fabric means that something made in the 19th Century would still be usable now.

Grumpelstiltskin

I tend to get my Linen tea towels from charity shops ( always new ) or the last one I bought new £2.50 from an Antique shop.

Yours should have said Linen in the description if they were Linen.

pollyanna_26

I've been a linen , cotton or a mix of both items addict all my life . Most of my clothes are those fabrics along with wool . They are very durable when properly cared for and I prefer to buy less in order to afford the quality and longevity .
I have inherited and cs sheets and household linens which properly cared for will probably still be in use long after I'm around .
I find a lot of the modern linen tea towels aren't linen and some that are are more glass cloths which are lighter in weight than the thicker version .
Someone wrote a book about things to do with a tea towel a few years ago . There were aprons ( you wouldn't need instructions for that ) there was a lovely sewing machine cover and a few other things that caught my eye . I bought the book and then ordered 3 reasonably priced linen tea towels from 3 different sources . None of them turned out to be linen despite the label . They were cotton and what we used to call shoddy cotton at that . All were returned .
You've already had good advice , haunt charity shops , boot sales and other sources of linen and most of all learn how real linen feels .
I'm wearing a linen blouse as I type this . It doesn't have the smoothness of cotton , more of a rough texture . The best test is to take hold and crumple the fabric if it starts to crease its linen.
polly.

ripplyuk

Thanks for the replies. I actually bought the exact same ones my friend has. She's one of the people who kept talking about how good linen is and how she wouldn't use anything else. I did ask her why it said cotton on the label but she told me that it's just a general word used to describe it these days. I won't tell her that she's wrong.

They're from Ulster Weavers and I've checked the website. They do both Cotton and linen tea towels. There must be a lot of people confused about this though because I've heard others describe them as linen. I think they just look similar, and they are very smooth compared to the usual fluffy type. It also seems impossible to get the creases out of them.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

ripplyuk wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. I actually bought the exact same ones my friend has. She's one of the people who kept talking about how good linen is and how she wouldn't use anything else. I did ask her why it said cotton on the label but she told me that it's just a general word used to describe it these days. I won't tell her that she's wrong.

They're from Ulster Weavers and I've checked the website. They do both Cotton and linen tea towels. There must be a lot of people confused about this though because I've heard others describe them as linen. I think they just look similar, and they are very smooth compared to the usual fluffy type. It also seems impossible to get the creases out of them.

Proper linen and the best replicas (which these sound like) need a hot iron when they're damp.


Very tempted to get some myself - but I'm not convinced they won't be accidentally used to clean up spills on the floor - that's why you can still get those stringy 'floor cloths', as you wouldn't use a linen teatowel for that sort of thing.

Siebrie

Both tumbledrying as well as ironing them will make them less water absorbent.

pollyanna_26

I agree with jojo about the hot iron when damp . My blouses and shirts from many different eras have lasted well and I don't follow trends . However I was a lot younger when I began the collection and now with arthritic fingers I have wept over the ironing board at times .
How did I buy ones with pintucks , awkward sleeves and lace inserts . Trick for those younger is to consider the future but of course we never do .
Now I limit the ironing to a max of three . Washed and hung for a short time so still pretty damp . Then I grit my teeth and tackle them and rehang to dry properly .
So they are never all washed together just a few at a time . As for the skirts and trousers they only get worn every now and then as the minute you put them on you know within a short time they will crease .
There are a few linen suppliers still in the UK but not many of them are to be relied on .
polly

coffeehound

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Real linen gets softer and softer over the years - and it will last donkeys' years. That's why old tablecloths go for so much money - the quality, strength and weave of the fabric means that something made in the 19th Century would still be usable now.

At work we abandoned a building in the mid '90s and I picked up a few very well used linen tea towels on my way out. 20 years on and those tea towels look better today than they did then. Astonishing quality.

pollyanna_26

Coffee hound i know a number of people who own some of the pre war linen items , still going strong now . I think it highlights how quality in manufacture , the loss of our own mills and shifting things abroad has impacted on previous long life goods . I'd prefer to have one of something lasting than a dozen cheaper items any day .
It has been nice to talk textiles , nowadays I use thick decent cotton tea towels which if needed can be washed on a high temperature . I haven't needed to do so so far but I've had a large amount for years some were also given to family .
How I got them was odd . I ordered some thick white cotton towelling cloths from Scr*wf*x of all places . I received a massive amount of the tea towels instead and when I rang them they said they no longer had the other cloths . I decided to give the subs a try as tea towels and they are so good but no longer available .
polly