Linen Washing - Easy Mode

I collect a lot of vintage linens from thrift and antique stores; I'm always on the lookout for good fabric and fine hand embroidery. Unfortunately a lot of these old pieces are yellowed or stained from years of use. However, I have found the perfect weapon with which to combat these entrenched stains: Oxy-Clean

This small scoop is plenty for washing several small items or even a large tablecloth

The basic recipe is: soak the stained fabic in Oxy-Clean and hot water for a couple hours, rinse and hang dry. 

Most old embroidery threads are quite colorfast, but it pays to be a bit careful. It's always a good idea to dab a bit of your Oxy-Clean solution on a discrete corner and make sure the colors won't run. Red dye in particular tends to bleed more than other colors. If you're worried about the colors, try using cold water first. It might not get all the stains out, but it's safer for the colors.

Also, make sure to rinse your linens thoroughly to  get all the Oxy-Clean out. If there's still some left when you iron the fabric, it can leave a brown stain. This stain too can be easliy removed with another soak, though.

Before washing - note the yellowed spots on the lace as well as the stains on the linen

After soaking for ~3 hours in hot tap water and Oxy-Clean - All the yellowed spots are gone!

As a bonus, Oxy-Clean will even lighten the marks from permanent iron on transfer pens or pencils! So if you slip up when transferring a design, or can't cover the lines completely with your stitches, Oxy-Clean can help!

See the blue shadow under the grey stitch just to the right of the red? That's the line from an iron on transfer pen.

Here's that same stitch, after soaking in the same Oxy-Clean bath as the runner above. The blue shadow is no more!