Household linen is the collective term for the textiles used in the running of a home, including sheets, pillowcases, tablecloths, napkins, towels, tea cloths and runners. Although once made largely of linen woven from flax, the term also covers similar items in cotton, union cloth and other fibres.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries linen was a significant household asset, carefully recorded in inventories, stored in linen presses and chests, and often marked with embroidered or inked initials, numbers and dates for laundry purposes. Brides traditionally assembled a trousseau of linen, and country houses kept large stocks managed by the housekeeper. Antique household linen today is valued for its quality and texture, especially heavy hand-woven linen sheets, fine damask tablecloths woven with patterns in Ireland, Scotland and Flanders, and pieces finished with whitework, drawn thread work or lace edging. Collectors look for good weight, even weave, crisp monograms and freedom from holes, stains and repairs. Old linen can often be used and laundered with care, and it adds a quiet note of authenticity to bedrooms and dining tables in period interiors.
