Hello again, Haven't been doing any exciting things lately.Plumbers,new tires,new brakes etc. So I thought I would tell you how to get linens clean. I have a number of ways to clean linens, it all depends on the item,which way I choose. First let me say there are some failures, but I say it is "Do or Die" as I can't sell dirty or stained stuff.
The most frequent item I deal with is the 1940's cotton,printed tablecloths. I love them but often they are stained. There are 2 methods for these...the first is to boil them. In the 40's-50's when they were sold,lots of items were boiled on the stove. If you look at a label on old embroidery floss,it usually says "boilfast." This was the way before all the products we have now.

Here is my disclaimer..be careful,it is hard on your hands,and if it boils over,it can mark your stove. Clean it up immediately or don't let it happen.

Anyways ,use an old canning pot, fill with hot water 3/4 way up and add 1/4 cup of dishwashing granules,for the dishwasher,like Cascade .I use whatever is cheapest. Put on stove,add linens but always keep it so that it is close to 3/4 of the way up. You don't want a boil over. Use a wooden spoon to shove down and stir. Put on Medium heat and simmer for about half an hour. Try to put similar colours together. This also works well with damask napkins and tablecloths.   I also put the fan above the stove on.

This is very hard on hands,so I pour it off into the sink wearing oven mitts, through a large plastic strainer. Let it drain and I sit the strainer in the top of pot and carry to washing machine.I put a  towel in front of the entrance to my front loader so I don't ruin it with drips,(I think it is very strong that powder) and load it in by tipping the strainer. Don't handle it with bare hands,it dries them out. Wash as you normally would. Never let the hot linens sit for long after the boiling,as the dye can transfer to a neighbouring piece.That is called "fugitive dye".
Every once in a while,this may happen with a piece,especially red dye,so do them alone.
I only use this pot for boiling,not for canning anymore.

My friend doesn't like this method,too caustic for her,so she puts hot water and Oxi-Clean powder,in the laundry tub,adds the linens and soaks for awhile stirring a few times. Drain and wash. Also very hard on hands so wear gloves.

Exciting photos!!  Be careful,but it does work well. This method is not great for precious items. That's for another blog entry.

I did get a chance to do another little footstool. I used vintage fabric and it looks very sweet.

Well I have linens to deal with, I could boil for days and never catch up!!   I love doing them.