I adore vintage linens and hunt them up every place, from antique shops to thrifts and there is very little that will scare me off. While at very nice antique shops most are in pretty good shape you can find some in other locations that while you know they have potential you also know that they can’t even come into the house until they are cleaned!
Odors and mystery stains all need to hit the road before you can even consider what to do with your treasure and I am a huge fan of Retro Clean for this part of the process! Depending on the level of ick this happens in the laundry room or sometimes on the front porch for items that are heavily smoke damaged or with mystery stains that make you wonder.
My newest piece was in quite good condition, and had obviously been washed but not stain treated and was blessed with a variety of yellow stains that I know as Protein Age Stains and I had a good feeling that Retro Clean could get them out.
My process is easy. Fill a plastic bin with warm water and the correct amount of powder for the project and then put the item to be rescued in the bin and get it all wet…. To make sure things stay wet and under water I weight them down with a plate or other item and then I wait.
Waiting is the hardest part!. As a rule I give even lightly solid items 12-24 hours, and heavily stained items might get up to a week with a water and soap change along the way!
When done soaking, carefully drain off the water, rinse and then wash again on delicate in the washer. Dry as you see fit. On my part I am going to really be using these items so I wash and dry as I will be using them – around here everything needs to pull its weight!
If needed, time to iron before quilting, but just for a bit admire you whiter whites, and your brightened colors… it is going to be an amazing project!!
Look for Retro Clean at your local quilt shop… but if they don’t have pop on over to the Retro Clean website and place an order… In the meantime go dig out those old linens and start thinking about what you might create!
Check back here at BAQS where Part 2 will be – Design Inspiration For Your Vintage Linens
Do you have vintage linens that you would like to give a new life…tell me about them in the comment section below.
I used sticky mounting boards to mount my counted cross stitch pieces 30 year ago. Now I find that those had an acidic base. The new boards thankfully do not. My problem is that the old pieces have yellowed from the acid. These pieces are stitched primarily on Aida cloth, but a few are on linen. Suggestions for cleaning and brightening would be appreciated.
As you know, I’m a longtime rescuer of vintage junk…have repurposed gazillions of pieces into quilts. RetroClean is my drug of choice for vintage stuff too. I use tons of it.
But! If I can climb on my soapbox for just a sec…please do know that anytime you wet clean anything, even cotton, you run the risk of damaging it. Dyes bleed, and fabrics from certain eras will just disappear, so just be aware and don’t dunk anything that might have value or that you care if it gets ruined. I speak from years of having done it all. Don’t know if you should wash it? Ahem, ask an appraiser. 😉
*scrambling off my box*
I haven’t tried RetroClean, but I have lots of vintage linens. I will give it a try!
Looking forward to part two–I have a bunch of these and I never quite know what to do with them!
I have quite a few hankies, napkins, and tableclothes that have been handed down to me. Unfortunately quite a few have mystery stains. I’ll be looking for Retro Clean!
Thank you so much; i have a number of vintage linens i want to keep – already released a bunch before i knew about retro clean! Excellent article!
Thank you!! I have a habit of picking up vintage linens and then am not sure what to do with them. In the past I have used Phels naphtha and washing soda to clean then placed in sun to dry. I will look for this retro clean product. Looking forward to part 2 for inspiration.
Thank you for this. I recently chopped up my 45 year old wedding dress, made of some odd cotton poly blend. It has a huge stain on it and I haven’t gotten around to trying this product yet. But I will for sure!
Blair Stocker has a book that just came out called Wise Craft Handmade which has lots of projects for recycled materials. If you and your readers haven’t checked it out I highly recommend it. She also recommends Retro Clean.
I have a couple of vintage tablecloths that I always thought would be fun to quilt up. Yucky vintage stains, though. I may give this a try!
I have oodles of family heirloom vintage linens, doilies, handkerchiefs, crochetted tablecloths, tatting, doilies, quilt tops…on and on… need ideas. Or…if you need something to “practice on” and return all gussied up…😉
Can’t wait to see your terrific ideas!