Wednesday, June 24, 2009

SPOTTING A REPRO

If you collect printed tablecloths from the sixties, be careful washing them. They will fade. The vintage cloths were usually 50 by 54 inches; repros are often 60 by 60 inches.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I imagine it's best to handwash them in mild soap - any suggestions how to remove stains and foldmarks? Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I am a member of the Vintage Tablecloth Lovers Club which can be found online. There are many sizes of vintage tablecloths. I am listing sizes from Elegant Table Lines From Weil & Durrse Incliding Wilendur by Michelle Hayes; most commonly sold size of 54x54,54x72,54x70,48x54,36x36,35x35,34x34,72" round, 63" round.
I hand soak, lay on the grass in the sun & iron my tablecloths. If there are stains, I use an overnight soak in oxyclean/Biz. Never use bleach as it weakens the fibers. If there are metallic threads in the tablecloth do not use oxyclean. Jane

Anonymous said...

I collect and sell vintage tablecloths from the 1040s/'50s. I've seen repros in antique malls and can always spot them because of their wider hems. Beware! To clean the old ones that I buy, I soak them overnight in powdered OxiClean dissolved in hot water. It bleaches out the organic stains (gravy, grass, wine, etc.) but not the color. It's just amazing!