Washing Vintage Sheets - Linen Care for Beginners

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How Do You Care for Vintage Linens?

You may not know this about me, but my favorite chore is laundry. Throwing my dirty laundry in the wash and then putting them out on the clothesline is a calming routine that I really enjoy.

So when I asked my Instagram followers what they’d like me to blog about I was happy to see the #1 question: How do you care for vintage linens? I’ve washed hundreds of sheets, tablecloths, pillowcases, quilts and vintage fabric. I have a lot of experience but I also didn’t start out that way.

I bought my first vintage sheet because it reminded me of my Oma and Opa’s bedding from when I was a kid. I barely knew how to sew and had ZERO experience with vintage linens. I quickly became intimidated by the thought of having to clean the sheet because I didn’t want to ruin it. So I stuffed the sheet in a closet and didn’t wash it or sew with it for years. How sad is that?

I’m writing this blog post for beginners because I don’t want someone to be afraid of working with linens out of fear that they’ll mess up. I want everyone to be included in the conversation and get more people working with vintage sheets! In my opinion, they are the absolute best material for sewing and are very affordable.

You can purchase your own vintage sheets on eBay

The Easy Way to Wash Vintage Linens

I eventually threw caution to the wind, took out that sheet from my closet, and just threw it in the wash with my clothes. It came out good as new! I was filled with so much anxiety about washing that sheet when I could have given it a try years before. I don’t want anyone to feel the way I did and waste precious time, not sewing!

How I Wash Vintage Sheets

I wash vintage sheets just like I do my regular laundry. GASP! I don’t use any special stain remover or soaking method. I sort my sheets into lights and darks, use Arm and Hammer laundry detergent and run on a regular cycle. Afterward, you can put it in the dryer if that’s how you normally do laundry. But I put mine out on the clothesline. The sun can help treat stains and also give the fabric a unique fresh scent. But that’s it! If you’re washing something fragile like a quilt I would recommend running on a gentle cycle and air drying.

You can watch how to line dry your clothes below.

I want everyone to feel comfortable and confident washing vintage linens. I don’t want there to be a barrier to entry for newbies to have to buy special stain removing products. Of course, you can give those a try but regular laundry soap has always worked for me.

However, if you’re looking for a special type of laundry soap check out Retro Clean. A lot of my followers swear by this stuff!

Getting Bad Smells Out of Vintage Linens

I have come across some horrible smelling sheets though! Ew haha! If it’s just slightly musty or dirty I wash it like normal. But if it’s a more permanent odor like mothballs I have to do something special. This method has always worked for me with stubborn smells.

How To:

-Grab a big Rubbermaid storage bin and put it in the bathtub

-Pour equal parts of white vinegar and water into the tub. The more linens you soak at one time the more liquid you will need to add.

-Soak fabric for 24 hours

-Dump the liquid down the tub and transfer linens to the laundry machine

-Wash with regular laundry soap and then line dry outside. Line drying is important because the sun and wind help with any remaining odor.

If You Don’t Have a Clothesline

It’s important to give your smelly linens access to the sun and wind. Do what you can to get your linens outside by throwing them over a deck railing. Or put some chairs outside and drape your linens over them.

My Philosophy on Stains in Vintage Linens

I’m going to be completely honest with you, I don’t pretreat any of my linens with stain remover. A lot of the stains do come out in the laundry on their own. But if it doesn’t, that’s okay! When I buy vintage I am choosing to buy imperfection. I’ve created a lot of projects that have stains in them and they are still beautiful. I made my makeup wipes and reusable paper towels out of stained vintage flannel and they are adorable.

Any stained pieces of fabric from vintage sheets that I cut for my Etsy shop go into mistake packs. I made an entire quilt out of stained mistake squares and it’s lovely.

The bottom line: Be fearless with vintage linens! 95% of what I wash is from thrift stores. That means they have already been washed so many times already that you don’t have to worry about things like bleeding and shrinking. I’ve never ruined any vintage linens that I’ve washed before so go ahead and give it a try!

If you’d like to learn more about how I find vintage items be sure to check out my blog post on The 10 Best Places to Find Vintage Items for Cheap (Or Free!)