Here, a cheater course on caring for natural fibers!
1. Wool. Treat it like it has the delicate constitution of a Victorian lady and the conviction that baths are evil of a 17th century noble. (If I get in WATER my PORES will OPEN and I will CATCH ILL AND DIE.)
2. Cotton; easygoing. Will shrink a bit if washed and dried hot.
3. Silk; people think it’s like wool and has the constitution of a fashionably dying of consumption Victorian lady, but actually it’s quite tough. Can be washed in an ordinary washer, and either tumbled dry without heat or hung to dry.
4. Linen; it doesn’t give a shit. Beat the hell out of it. Historically was laundered by dousing it in lye and beating the shit out of it with wooden paddles, which only makes it look better.The masochist of the natural fiber world. Beat the fuck out of it linen doesn’t care. Considerably stronger than cotton. Linen sheet sets can last literal decades in more or less pristine shape because of that strength.The most likely natural fiber to own a ball gag.
why are all my thrifted linen clothes dry-clean only ? is that fake ? is it a linen blend ?
That is a blatant lie. Throw that shit in the wash and iron it as hot as you can once it comes out and bam presto good as new.
Also important fabric note: cotton, wool, and sufficiently thick silk can be torn, for a nice straight line. Linen cannot. Linen laughs at your puny mortal strength. You have to cut linen
Truth.
Your puny mortal hands will give out before the linen does.
Hell, for a truly awesome finish on your linen, throw it into a pot of boiling water, stir it around vigorously, haul it out, wring EXTREMELY firmly once it’s cool enough to safely handle, hang dry, iron as hot as your iron will go while it’s still slightly damp. Your linen will thank you. Your hands might not
Truth.
This is why heirloom linens are a thing. Your great-grandmothers linens outlived her, your grandma, and with proper care will also outlive you.
Also! If your linen is only lightly worn and you didn’t sweat much while wearing it? Just soak it down with water, wring it out, and hang it in the sun. It’ll take care of any weird smells on its own
And in case people don’t believe the whole “linen lasts” thing, I present to you, from the tomb of Wah at Luxor circa 1980 BCE (Metropolitan Museum 20.3.203a), this length of linen with only minor damage:
People always think this, but it’s not true. I promise. Silk holds up just fine in the washing machine. The dye in it might not in all cases, but the silk itself is just fine.
Here’s a secret; to process silk from cocoon to thread, you use boiling water and strong alkali agents and either lye soap or dishwashing soap. Source; I’ve done it. Silk is just fine in a washing machine, I promise.
Another secret; before sewing with silk you should pre-wash it…in a washing machine.
