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Laundry Tips on Washing Your Linen

Linen Fabric becomes softer and more absorbent after each wash, making your textiles and clothing even comfier. Unlined curtains, bedding and clothing could be either machine- or hand-washed in lukewarm or cold water (up to 40 degrees), and a gentle cycle should always be selected.

To prevent linen items from getting tangled and stretched, fill the washing machine only half full, leaving enough room for the fabrics to move freely.

For all lined curtains we recommend dry cleaning. This will help to avoid uneven shrinkage of the linen and the lining. Show the label with the fabric content to your professional, so they choose the best care.

Tumble Dry: Good for Linen or Not

 Tips on Ironing Linen Fabric

Have you ever wondered what process a small flower of flax goes through to become a lovely linen bedding in your bedroom? Let’s find out and dig more into the background story of this remarkable material!

A Dash of Linen’s History

History of linen goes way back many thousands of years. In Ancient Egypt, linen was so valued that people even used it as a currency. Later on, linen was a fiber used for mummification as it symbolized the wealth and purity of the deceased pharaohs.

Mentioned several times in the Bible, as cloth of the angels, this natural fabric has been used as a cool, breathable material in the Middle East for centuries as well. Allegedly, traders then introduced linen to Northern Europe where it has become one of the most common plants for cultivation for centuries.

Nowadays flax is grown in different parts of the world, but the real high-quality flax is primarily cultivated in Western European countries.

 The Manufacturing Process

Linen, like any other natural fabric, is made from the natural source – flax plant. The manufacturing process is not that complicated as it might look, apparently because of this linen has gained popularity among people and been used for such a long time.

First, the flax seeds are planted and after about one hundred days, when the flax blossomed and started to turn brown, it’s ready to harvest. After harvesting, the plants are dried, and the seeds are removed from the flowers.

The flax is then to be “retted”.  This is a process when the flax plant is put into the water and left to rot. The special bacteria in the tank helps degrade the fibers from the woody stem. After the retting, the flax plants are going through the process called beetling. Beetling consists of beating the flax with a wooden mallet to loosen and separate the fibers from each other. Then comes the time of scutching. Using a special scutching machine any pieces of woody stem that remain on the fibers during beetling are fully removed now and finally, the flax fiber from the stalk is released.

After that, the scutched linen fibers are sorted and spun into yarns on a spinning wheel. The atmosphere within the spinning factory is very important, it should be warm and humid for the purpose of turning linen fiber easier into yarn.

Then these yarns will be woven and become the lovely natural fabric we all know as linen. Later on, linen can be bleached, dyed, printed on, or even embroidered.

Although growing and manufacturing of flax might look pretty intricate, it’s actually a very sustainable plant: flax is strong, naturally moth resistant, it requires less water, fertilizers, and pesticides than any other natural plant, including cotton. 

The production of linen fabric is very earth-friendly. Almost the entire plant of flax can be used to create a worthwhile product, e.g the seeds can be used to produce linseed oil, which is great for wood preservation, or a flaxseed oil that can be added to many common foods.

     Have you ever thought of adding something new to your bedroom, but didn’t know where to start? The bed skirts, or you may also know them as dust ruffles, can help you to refresh your bedroom’s look and make your bed a comfy cloud which you wanna come back to after a long day at work.

     In fact, a bed skirt and a dust ruffle aren’t actually the same thing. While dust ruffle is supposed to be equipped with a stretchable band around the top, so it fits around the box springs tightly and is kept in place by the band, the bed skirt has a fabric body (also called decking) that is to be inserted between the mattress and the box spring. 

     Based on our experience we choose bed skirts with fabric body (decking) since they fit the bed much better.

     Bed skirts come in various colors, patterns, and sizes. They can be ruffled, tailored, pleated, with split or pleated corners, with lining or no lining at all. Pretty overwhelming, huh? But don’t worry, with this useful guide to the world of bed skirts it will be easy for you to choose the right one.

     WHAT BED SKIRT STYLE TO CHOOSE

     Let’s start with the style of a bed skirt. We have 3 options here: ruffled or tailored.

     A classic tailored linen bed skirt will help you to create a modern look that won’t distract all the attention from your other bed linens. If you want to create a classy simple look you might just want to go with a not pleated version of this bed skirt. However, if you want to add a dash of elegance to your bed skirt’s style, the skirt with pleats on the sides or even on both sides and corners is the one you should go for.

     If you decided to go for the light and more see-through colors, such as white, off-white, or cream, make sure the skirt has a lining underneath it so that the base of the bed won’t be seen through the fabric.     

     If you want to bring to your space a sense of some sophisticated and romantic style, the bed skirt with gathered ruffles will be a perfect fit. It can be successfully used with any bed linens while adding a graceful and shabby chic note to your bedroom.

     Another style of bed skirts that becomes more and more popular these days is the oversized one. It will go well even with Industrial interiors, which classic bed skirts will not fit and bring a sense of ease and comfort to your house.

    HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT SIZE

     After you made up your mind about the style of the bed skirt, it’s time to choose the right size. The right size is key to the perfect look of the bed skirt. You may choose from the standard sizes such as Twin, Twin XL, Full, Queen, King, and CalKing. And of course, we know that not all of us have standard-size beds, that’s why we are always ready to help our customers to turn their dreams into reality and create something individual and special for them.

WHAT DROP SIZE DO I NEED?

     Choosing the right drop size will determine if the bed skirt will hang properly on your bed and create the desired atmosphere in your bedroom! And measuring the drop is actually much easier than it looks – using the tapeline just measure the distance from the top of your box spring to the floor.

      If you’d like the valance of your ruffled bed skirt to lay on the floor - add 2-3 inches to your measurement for the more relaxed look of your bed skirt. Otherwise, take just an amount measured. As for the tailored bed skirt, there is no need to add some extra inches to the drop length, just go with the initial measurement.

DO I NEED SPLIT CORNERS OR NOT?

     If your you have a footboard, then the answer is “Yes”, you do need a split-corner bed skirt as it hides the underside of the bed and allows the skirt to fit around the posts of the footboard. Otherwise – no, the split corners are not actually needed.

HOW DO I PUT THE BED SKIRT ON?

     After bringing your brand new bed skirt home we recommend ironing it first for a while to soften the fabric and eliminate the wrinkles. You can also speed up your ironing and make it much easier by spraying some water onto the fabric.

     Then remove your mattress, place the skirt on the top of your bed’s box spring, and then place the mattress back on the bed. And voilà! The installation is complete and now you can make up the bed with the rest of your bed linens and enjoy the magic.

           CAN I HAVE A BED SKIRT FOR AN ADJUSTABLE BED?

     For those of you, who have an adjustable bed, we recommend to choose the bed skirt with no decking and just attach the skirt around the top to your bed frame using Velcro (self-adhesive Velcro strips). If you have a bed with two separate bases that move independently of each other we recommend purchasing 2 smaller bed skirts, for each of the bed parts. Message us about your bed type - we will be glad to create a tailor-made bed skirt just for you.

We receive a lot of messages from customers about curtains: some of you are confused about choosing the style, other doubt if they measure the panel size correctly. Based on your FAQ we created a set of posts to help in choosing the right draperies. Below are the topics that we plan to cover:

1. Interior styles
2. What is the difference between curtain’s headings?
3. Length - how to measure
4. Width
5. Functional features (darkening)

1. Interior Styles

 Curtains are those part of the interior that connects multiple pieces into one idea and represents the mood of the room. However, many find it difficult to choose among the variety of draperies, here are some tips with what to start.

Linen (made of flax plant) is the material which itself is associated with such interior styles as:

• Farmhouse (modern farmhouse)
• Minimalist
• Industrial
• French country
• Rustic

However other interior styles will nicely pair with the linen, you just need to add particular accents, for example – choose proper panel top (heading).

Below you will find what is the difference between different headings, how they may change the look.

 2. What is the difference between curtains headings?

Rod pocket. The top of the panel has the “pocket” where you can easily pull the rod. Standard pocket size is 2.8” and it is suitable for the rod till 2”.

Choose this style for the places where you do not need to close and open the drapes each day or use tie backs to hold the panels when they are opened.

Tiebacks come with each panel in our store.

The romantic look creates a rod pocket curtain with an additional heading. Standard heading width is 2”.

Tab top heading is a perfect accent for modern farmhouse or rustic room styles. White color panels look fabulous in the Scandinavian interior.

It’s very easy to hang and even easier to move, close, and open it as many times as you wish.

Hidden tabs or back tabs create a classic look and make accurate folding (similar to the one with eyelets). Curtain panel top will be perfect for contemporary, modern, or coastal interior.

Standard hidden tabs fit the rod up to 2 “ thick.

Eyelet curtains are very easy to hang and move. Eyelets are available in several metallic colors, which help to create additional accents in the room: industrial, modern, or rustic design. The rings have an internal diameter of 1,4” and are suitable for poles with a diameter of up to 1,2”.

Colors: chrome, bronze, silver, gold, white, and black.

Knot curtain panels are a boho (bohemian) style alternative to classic farmhouse tabs. Feature knots on the top. Perfect for Canopy beds as well.

Knots add approx. 9 inches to the total curtain panel length.

Usually, they do not add any inches to the curtain length unless they are tied in a relaxed look.

Perfect for contemporary or shabby chic interiors, also used to dress four posts canopy beds.

Panels for rings and hooks

If you have the rings with hooks (for example N-hooks), then we attach the tape to the backside of the hooks. Modern tapes allow you to gather the panel according to your wish and imagination:

• S-fold curtain
• Pencil pleat curtains
• Pinch Pleat
• Goblet Pleat

Panels for rings and clips

The top of the panel features an accurate hem that will allow you to hang the panel. Choose this top for café curtains or small-size panels, since the linen is rather heavy, and larger panels especially lined ones may be challenging to make hanging with the clips.

Choosing the right material to sleep on is a final step in making your bed really comfortable. Even once you’ve decided to go for natural fabrics you still have an important decision to make – to choose among two of the most common natural bedding materials: linen and cotton.

Both of these fibers have their own distinctive feel and benefits, so how to choose one over the other? Here are some of their key differences that will help you make the right decision.

Linen VS Cotton. What’s the difference?

Linen

Linen is the world’s strongest natural fiber and is often regarded as the best quality material to sleep in. It is derived from the flax plant that goes through a lengthy production process to become an end-product for your bed.

Linen has a lot of benefits and is famous for its balance between its strength and the ability to become softer after each wash. Linen is one of the best breathable fabrics, it can keep you cool in summer and won’t let you get cold in winter.

The top flax growing countries in the world are France, Belgium, Italy, and Lithuania. They have the perfect climate conditions to grow it and produce the highest quality natural fibers that will be then turned into cozy linen sheets for your bedroom.

Cotton

Cotton is the other kind of natural material that is commonly used for bedding. Cotton is a soft natural fiber that gets its strength from spinning the fiber into yarn and then weaving the yarn into fabric. Cotton is breathable and moisture-wicking fabric, also because of the softness it’s really comfortable material to sleep in.

The process of producing cotton is relatively easy compared to the linen process so that cotton textiles tend to be lower priced.

The most common delusion about cotton is that the higher the thread count is, the higher the quality is. But what is actually the best thread count? In fact, the thread count itself only contributes up to 10% of a finished bedding product. Other factors that are much more important to measure the quality of the fabric include the species and quality of the source cotton, the country of origin, the yarning technique, and finishing materials.

We will get to these factors in our upcoming posts.

Why choose Linen?

Durable and strong

Linen is known to be the world’s strongest natural fiber. Not only is linen thicker than cotton, but it is also 30% stronger than cotton, that makes the linen bed sheets being more durable and lasts a lot longer.

Able to soften after each wash

High-quality cotton is inevitably softer than linen, especially within the first six months of purchase. However, high-quality linen becomes softer and more absorbent after each wash without losing its durability. Most linens that are used for bedding products (like Scottie’s) are high quality and are also ‘stonewashed’, which makes linen look more elegant and be even softer than usual.

Highly breathable

Linen is a natural insulator. It has natural heat and moisture-wicking properties that make linen a good conductor of warmth and a popular fabric to use for clothing or bedding in the summer.

More environmentally friendly

The cultivation and manufacturing of flax are environmentally friendly and require less irrigation, pesticides, and energy than most other fibers, including cotton. For example, the flax plant, from which linen is derived, requires only 1/5 of the pesticides and fertilizers that cotton requires.

Naturally hypoallergenic

Because linen is a natural fiber (so is cotton too) it is hypoallergenic, meaning that it is great for people who suffer from allergies or have sensitive skin, so they won’t need to worry about having an allergic reaction when touching the fabric or sleeping on it.

Absorb moisture

Linen has an incredible ability of moisture absorption and can absorb up to 20% of its weight before beginning to feel damp or wet.