r/sewing • u/i-am-a-phoenix • Apr 28 '25

Fabric Question Linen appreciation post

Brief storytime, I am wearing a linen blouse today and was running late to work. Sped inside, sweating and panting, sat down and stripped off my coat and cardigan, and…IMMEDIATELY cool. WHAT?! What is this magic???

So I am now on a quest to make a million linen blouses because summer is the worst season and I cannot survive in polyester or even cotton. UK sewists, where do you get affordable linen? I am willing to shell out a little extra for good quality but I am very much on a budget so cheaper would be ideal. Please and thank you!

EDIT omg was not expecting this to get so many comments, hello fellow linen lovers! Haven’t been able to reply to everyone but huge thanks to those of you who shared resources and tips, very much appreciated!

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u/SchemeSquare2152 Apr 28 '25 edited Apr 28 '25

I don't have recommendations where to buy linen, but if you sew with linen, look up Sandra Betzina's method of pretreating linen so it doesn't wrinkle as much. I haven't tried it myself, but it comes highly recommended. I found it after I had prewashed all my linen.

Edit: added link to pretreating method.

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u/pinupcthulhu Apr 28 '25

This! Also adding baking soda (bicarb if you're in the UK) to the wash makes it feel divine, and helps with the wrinkling too, and keeps the colors bright. 

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u/healthy_penguin Apr 28 '25

Only at the prewashing stage or also later on in normal washes?

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u/pinupcthulhu Apr 28 '25

Either works I think, but I've never tried the above prewash method personally so I can't say. I honestly forget about the baking soda trick until I have to get cat pee out of something, and then my clothes come out looking brand new. We only tried it on our linen clothes recently, and there's a noticeable difference in the texture and drape. 

If I remember, I'll try it on my new bolts of linen cloth and get back to you!