Linen Napkins

I found the prettiest linen napkins at our local Habitat For Humanity yesterday!  Well, they were pretty to me.  Anyone else would have shunned them because of their yellow stains.  Every napkin was plagued with them, like a litter of yellow Dalmatians, but if you know why antique linens stain you've just fought half the battle in fixing them.  So, I bought them for $.25 a piece and began the process of removing those uglies.  They are caused by poor storage and they absorb the yellow of boxes and wood.  So don't store your linens in boxes or wooden furniture.  "One Good Thing by Jillee" had superb instructions on removing the stains, but my husband had an even better idea.  He said, "If you boiled fabric in cleaner and water in the old days to remove the stains, why don't you just use the sanitize cycle on the washing machine?"  Well, that was just a big DUH!  I took the linens out of the pot and put them in the washer for a 2-hour cleaning cycle (not 3 days). Then I laid them out in the sun for about an hour, ironed them and I couldn't be happier!  There is not a single yellow spot on them!  Take a look:

12"x12"

Close up of detailed corner and lace