Our New Linen Tea Towels: The Story of a Difficult Cloth

When the first roll of this linen arrived, the person who makes up my table linens told me it moved. Not a little. It shifted under the needle, refused to sit still, and behaved like a cloth that did not want to be sewn.

I could have sent it back. I am glad I did not.

The short version: our new linen tea towels are woven from a loose, linen-rich cloth, 59 per cent linen and 41 per cent cotton, at around 325gsm. It is tricky to sew, and that same looseness is exactly what makes it so absorbent and lint-free. The awkward part is the good part.

 A cloth with a mind of its own

Most tea towel fabric is tightly woven and well behaved. It cuts cleanly, sews in a straight line, and gives you no trouble. This linen is not like that.

It is woven with a little more air in it, so the threads have room to move. On the cutting table that is a nuisance. In your hands, drying a glass or a large pan, it is a quiet pleasure.

We solved the sewing problem by overlocking the top and bottom edges to hold everything steady. The weave itself, we left alone.

 Why the loose weave is the feature

A tea towel has one job. It has to soak up water quickly and leave nothing behind on the glass.

A loose, open weave does both. There is more surface for the water to cling to, so it drinks it up. And because the threads are natural linen and cotton, it does not shed lint across your glassware the way a cheaper cloth can.

So the cloth that was almost too tricky to make turned out to be the one I would choose myself.

 Woven in Europe, made up in the north of England

The linen is woven in Lithuania, on old looms by people who have done it for a long time. It is then sent here and made up in the north of England, edge by edge.

I like knowing both halves of that journey. It is woven, not printed, so the stripe runs right through the cloth rather than sitting on the surface. Stripes have run through my family's linens for generations, and this one carries that on.

 Softened without chemicals

Some linen is softened with chemical finishes to make it feel ready on day one. This one is not.

It is softened with steam and a mechanical process only, no chemical softeners. That means it arrives with a bit of honest linen character, and it only gets better with use.

 Its first wash

Here is the part worth knowing before you buy. This linen is sold in its loom state, which means it has not been pre-shrunk.

On its first wash it will relax and shrink a little, and soften as it does. This is not a fault. It is the sign of a real, un-over-processed linen, the same way your favourite linen shirt settles in after a few washes. Wash it warm, dry it flat or on the line, and it will look after you for years.

 Three colourways, one small table range

For now this is a small, considered range: tea towels, pairs of napkins, and table runners, with a made-to-measure runner if you want one cut to your own table.

There are three colourways to choose from: green and blue, dark green, and red. Each one suits a different table, and they sit happily together if you like to mix them.

 Common questions

 Are these linen tea towels absorbent?

Yes. The loose, open weave gives the water more to hold on to, so they dry glasses and pans quickly and leave no lint behind.

 Will they shrink?

Yes, on the first wash only, so the yarns fall into place, about 12% on the length; they are sold in their loom state and have not been pre-shrunk. They soften as they settle in.

 Where are they made?

The linen is woven in Vilnius, Lithuania and the products are made up in the north of England.

 Come and have a look

If you have read this far, you are my kind of person: someone who cares how a thing is made. The linen tea towels, napkins and runners are on the website now. Have a look and see which colourway feels like yours.