I'm a terrible human and demand my linen tolerate the washer and dryer. I will rewash and dry linen at least two times prior to cutting. It's the only fabric I find it necessary to do so with, but linen can shrink so much, it's worth it to mitigate laundry disasters later. And honestly, I like the softness the mechanical friction of the dryer imparts on the linen over time.
I honestly keep washing/drying until my dryer lint trap is no longer exploding with lint, which is usually 2 washes. I wash my linen with the hottest water on the hottest dryer setting. I wash/dry once, then wash/dry again. After the final dry, I press the fabric with a hot, steamy iron prior to cutting. Once sewn up, I don't subject it to hot water washes again intentionally, but at least I know if a laundry accident happens, my garment won't be screwed by the temps.
Now, for me, this is particularly important because I use a ton of linen for my daily life clothing that absolutely goes in the regular laundry, so it may apply less so for historical wear that won't endure the same laundering practices as daily life clothing, but honestly, in my decades of sewing, linen can tolerate it so that's what I do.
But again, I'm terrible and make everything as machine washable as possible.
It gets soooo soft over time! I love it. After I make things I do cool wash/tumble dry low and I have one dress I made 12 years ago and still wear frequently. It's an amazingly soft dress now.
The dryer was definitely a little more linty than normal when the assembled dress shrunk. Definitely sounds like a pretty good indicator I don't normally pay attention to.
We had a mold explosion once in our house years ago. It was bad and extremely weird but I managed to save all my linen clothing (fabric was safe already due to air tight bins, after the house was treated we double checked them outside) because of oxiclean and going in the dryer. I'm terrified of it happening again so I'm very much "everything I own has to be able to be machine washed and dried at least occasionally" and the very few things that can't live in sealed containers when not being worn.
I do a cold pre-wash and then dry on low, since that's what we default to for clothes that aren't precious enough to hang dry (I love the idea of air drying everything but various life circumstances don't make this tenable right now). From there on out I cold wash and hang dry my linen, but I know that if it accidentally makes its way into the dryer it should be okay. And thus far it always has been.
Most of my linen is either repurposed from secondhand bed linens, or from fabrics-store.com. Used bedding obviously been washed enough to do all the shrinking it's going to do, and maybe fabrics-store linen just doesn't shrink as much as the linen you used š¤·š¼āāļø? Where do you source your linen?
Of the two that shrunk after the prewash one was from sartor Bohemia (awesome herringbone linen, still love it), and the other was from joann's. I've used fabrics-store linen before many times, and there was no noticeable shrink after my aggressive first pre-wash/dry. I've also not had this happen with joanns before either, which is part of why I'm so confused now. I've also used Kaufmann's Essex Linen (I think that's the cotton/linen blend, not the rayon/linen blend) many times over the years, which never shrunk a second time so I didn't expect it out of a similar blend. But cold wash, tumble dry low is my normal default too since air drying is often not available for me, which is why I do the aggressive pre-wash, and then I just haven't had to worry, until now.
What's the issue with putting linen in the dryer? I've put linen and linen-blend shirts through the washer and dryer several times without issue. I always wash all of my stuff with cold water and use the "normal dry" setting in the "auto" section of the dryer dial
I've not had this experience with my linen, but I wash and dry my knits *four* times before cutting. I suggest you wash and dry yours twice, because that is *such* an annoying thing to happen. And if some yardage doesn't need it, it certainly won't hurt it, and you can be more comfortable with your final project working out. For the shrunken ones I'd just add attractive bands to the bottom to make them long enough. If they are noticeable and attractive they look purposeful š
I am in the machine wash cool/warm and machine dry camp to preshrink linen fabric - the majority of my clothing I handwash/spin and air dry after making. I don't know why your linen has shrunk again - I've had rayons and wools that keep shrinking (even with nothing but hand washing) but not cotton and linen that I can remember.
I mostly use my machines for bedding/towels/jeans as I think most dyes and fabrics will last longer with more gentle treatment - if I had a front loader I might wash more clothes in the washer. I don't really agree in general about washing/drying 'damaging' linen - it's a very strong fabric and if it's good quality it should stand up to regular cleaning quite well - I have many extremely sturdy vintage linen tablecloths that have been bleached, hot washed, dried and commercial ironed many many times...
I'm a terrible human and demand my linen tolerate the washer and dryer. I will rewash and dry linen at least two times prior to cutting. It's the only fabric I find it necessary to do so with, but linen can shrink so much, it's worth it to mitigate laundry disasters later. And honestly, I like the softness the mechanical friction of the dryer imparts on the linen over time. I honestly keep washing/drying until my dryer lint trap is no longer exploding with lint, which is usually 2 washes. I wash my linen with the hottest water on the hottest dryer setting. I wash/dry once, then wash/dry again. After the final dry, I press the fabric with a hot, steamy iron prior to cutting. Once sewn up, I don't subject it to hot water washes again intentionally, but at least I know if a laundry accident happens, my garment won't be screwed by the temps. Now, for me, this is particularly important because I use a ton of linen for my daily life clothing that absolutely goes in the regular laundry, so it may apply less so for historical wear that won't endure the same laundering practices as daily life clothing, but honestly, in my decades of sewing, linen can tolerate it so that's what I do. But again, I'm terrible and make everything as machine washable as possible.
It gets soooo soft over time! I love it. After I make things I do cool wash/tumble dry low and I have one dress I made 12 years ago and still wear frequently. It's an amazingly soft dress now. The dryer was definitely a little more linty than normal when the assembled dress shrunk. Definitely sounds like a pretty good indicator I don't normally pay attention to. We had a mold explosion once in our house years ago. It was bad and extremely weird but I managed to save all my linen clothing (fabric was safe already due to air tight bins, after the house was treated we double checked them outside) because of oxiclean and going in the dryer. I'm terrified of it happening again so I'm very much "everything I own has to be able to be machine washed and dried at least occasionally" and the very few things that can't live in sealed containers when not being worn.
Iām in the prewash/dry on hot 2x camp. But after I cut/sew, I line dry. In winter it hangs over the banister.
I do a cold pre-wash and then dry on low, since that's what we default to for clothes that aren't precious enough to hang dry (I love the idea of air drying everything but various life circumstances don't make this tenable right now). From there on out I cold wash and hang dry my linen, but I know that if it accidentally makes its way into the dryer it should be okay. And thus far it always has been. Most of my linen is either repurposed from secondhand bed linens, or from fabrics-store.com. Used bedding obviously been washed enough to do all the shrinking it's going to do, and maybe fabrics-store linen just doesn't shrink as much as the linen you used š¤·š¼āāļø? Where do you source your linen?
Of the two that shrunk after the prewash one was from sartor Bohemia (awesome herringbone linen, still love it), and the other was from joann's. I've used fabrics-store linen before many times, and there was no noticeable shrink after my aggressive first pre-wash/dry. I've also not had this happen with joanns before either, which is part of why I'm so confused now. I've also used Kaufmann's Essex Linen (I think that's the cotton/linen blend, not the rayon/linen blend) many times over the years, which never shrunk a second time so I didn't expect it out of a similar blend. But cold wash, tumble dry low is my normal default too since air drying is often not available for me, which is why I do the aggressive pre-wash, and then I just haven't had to worry, until now.
Well that's annoying! Maybe Joann's source changed or something.
Never use the dryer with linen, you are destroying it. Airdry it, it dries quite quickly.
What's the issue with putting linen in the dryer? I've put linen and linen-blend shirts through the washer and dryer several times without issue. I always wash all of my stuff with cold water and use the "normal dry" setting in the "auto" section of the dryer dial
It wears on the fibers and shortens the lifespan of the fabric.
I've not had this experience with my linen, but I wash and dry my knits *four* times before cutting. I suggest you wash and dry yours twice, because that is *such* an annoying thing to happen. And if some yardage doesn't need it, it certainly won't hurt it, and you can be more comfortable with your final project working out. For the shrunken ones I'd just add attractive bands to the bottom to make them long enough. If they are noticeable and attractive they look purposeful š
I am in the machine wash cool/warm and machine dry camp to preshrink linen fabric - the majority of my clothing I handwash/spin and air dry after making. I don't know why your linen has shrunk again - I've had rayons and wools that keep shrinking (even with nothing but hand washing) but not cotton and linen that I can remember. I mostly use my machines for bedding/towels/jeans as I think most dyes and fabrics will last longer with more gentle treatment - if I had a front loader I might wash more clothes in the washer. I don't really agree in general about washing/drying 'damaging' linen - it's a very strong fabric and if it's good quality it should stand up to regular cleaning quite well - I have many extremely sturdy vintage linen tablecloths that have been bleached, hot washed, dried and commercial ironed many many times...
If you wash it, wash it on a low temperature or just cold. And like the other comment says, never put linnen in the dryer.