How To Store Vintage Linens

The best materials to use when storing your textile collection are acid free cardboard boxes, and acid free tissue paper. These are the materials used by museums the world over, and for an item with a lot of financial, historical, or sentimental value, it is well worth the expense of the supplies to know that your special textile is in the safest environment possible. You can shop for acid free storage supplies via catalog or online at a company that sells archival supplies to libraries and museums. However, if you have a large collection, the cost of acid free boxes can rapidly mount up. So let's go over some other ways to store your collection without breaking the bank.

The most common mistake made when storing textiles is to put them in plastic. Textiles are organic materials and they need to breath - and they won't be able to when sealed in an airtight 15 gallon bin. In addition to possible damage from the gases released by the plastic itself, ambient temperature changes over the long term can cause moisture build up, leading to mold or mildew stains. So please take your textiles out of those bins!

If you have taken any of your textiles to the dry cleaner, make sure you remove the plastic from them as soon as they come back

When choosing a storage space, it is also important to remember that textiles should never come into direct contact with wood. Every type of wood has acid in it, and in the long term, the part of the textile that was directly in contact with it will turn yellow and become more fragile. Many of us were taught that a cedar chest was a safe spot for storing textiles, and that is true as long as you provide a barrier of some sort between the textile and the wood. The best material to act as a barrier is several sheets of acid free tissue paper. If this is not possible, feel free to use old cotton sheets that have been washed and well rinsed (no fabric softener). Check your barrier material every six to nine months. If the paper or fabric is turning yellow, change it for a fresh barrier. Use the barrier method when placing textiles on a wooden shelf too. Wrap each textile individually, and then place them on the barrier paper or fabric.

Textiles should never be stored (or displayed for that matter) in direct sunlight. Sunlight leeches moisture from the fibers, and when they become too dry, they will crumble into dust. This condition is called "dry rot". The condition is irreversible, and silks are the most common fiber to succumb.

Make sure the textile you wish to store is clean. Many people are afraid to wash their vintage textiles, but believe me, they will be much easier to clean (and therefore you will have less chance of ruining them) when their stains or dust are fresh. Stains don't disappear in storage, and what was a faint little mark when the cloth was put away can look like a big dark stain when you take it out of storage a few months later. It is also a good idea to wash any item that was heavily starched. While starch makes an item look crisp and fresh while it is on display, in the long term it can cause fabrics to turn yellow. In addition, since starch is cellulose based, it can make your stored textile look very attractive to bugs, who will consider it food.

The next aspect of storage to consider is how to lay out the fabrics you intend to store. In a perfect world, a vintage textile should be stored flat and not folded. Storage damage often occurs along crease lines. Most of us fold an item the same way every time we fold it, so those crease areas get more wear than the rest of the piece. And of course if any part of the textile is exposed to the elements, it is more than likely going to be the part along the fold line. So the less folding, the better it is for the textile in the long term. Of course, while that is a great idea for a sampler, it isn't always practical for larger pieces. For medium sized linens, consider rolling them like a jelly roll, instead of folding them. Use acid free tissue paper crunched into a long tube to pad the center, then roll it up, and wrap the roll.

You can also use cardboard tubes from paper towels or wrapping paper as a base for your roll, but use a barrier (paper or fabric, as above) between the tube and the textile, because commercial cardboard tubes are not acid free. Paper and cardboard are wood based products, the same acid that I warned you about in the wood is in the paper, unless it is labeled acid free. For huge pieces, such as sheets or tablecloths, some folding is bound to be necessary. In that case, as you fold the item, pad the creases with scrunched up tubes of acid free tissue paper. That way, even though it is folded, the textile has no sharp creases. When you check on your textiles every six to nine months, take out the larger pieces and re-fold them in a different way. If you folded it in half, then in quarters the first time you put it away, try folding it thirds first the next time. Changing the areas that are creased will help prevent any one area from suffering from more wear than another.

I have spoken to many people over the years who have inherited Grandma's collection of vintage linens, and just left it in a heap somewhere because they think leaving it alone is safer than taking charge of it. By paying attention to the basic principals of good storage, you are taking steps to make sure that your family heirlooms will last a good long time, and can be enjoyed by generations to come.