Not exactly fashion but... help with an antique sheet monogram?

I have this old sheet, I believe from the style of the monogram it's from the 1930s or so? I would love any help with that dating if anyone is a linens person. Also do you think the monogram is RG or RC? And finally, is there any good way to tell the difference between 100% linen and metis? Thanks very much!

 

Reads as "R G" to me. Nice sheet, I've always thought these were pure cotton but I may be wrong. They get nice and soft when washed lots.

 

Thank you, Nicole. I'm pretty sure from the way it feels that it's not all cotton. I also don't feel convinced it's all linen, and I'm leaning toward its being a blend -- but I'd love to be able to tell definitively. Wish I had a polarized light microscope!

 

You could always try a burn test?

I've only seen cotton or cotton/polyester sheets but to me yours looks like a nice quality cotton.

 

I thought cotton and linen burn very similarly, no?

 

That is lovely. I also think it looks more like a "G" than a "C". Antique and vintage linen sheets are divine, and I could not live without mine in the hot summer months. It sure looks like linen in the photos, but that is not conclusive. If you think it has the feel of linen, that cool touch and crisp hand that seems to never really completely wash out (thank goodness), then it probably IS linen. It will be hard to tell if these are metis. A burn test will be inconclusive unless you have the nose of a trained expert and even then they really both smell the same. Without chemical or microscopic testing available to you, I might recommend the water spot test. But since metis has both cotton and linen fibers in varying amounts, that test might not work very well either.

My best test is experience in handling them over the years, so "if it feels like linen, it probably is".

A basic water spot test is: Take the fabric and smooth it out a bit taught, place it raised up from any surface so air can go underneath. You might try placing it between two short piles of books, etc. Take an eye dropper and from an inch or two above the textile, drop 1 good sized drop of water. Watch CAREFULLY as this clue will happen very fast. If the textile is pure linen, the water spot will barely (or not at all) spread out into the fibers from where it initially fell. If it is cotton, the water spot will spread out and change shape, getting larger and blurry shaped as it is absorbed into the cotton fibers.

This is not foolproof, but it is helpful in many cases.

It is really a wonderful sheet.

 

Great test, Barbara. I'll have to try that. I, too, identify linen by look and touch. It's not always doable on photos.

 

Thank you - I'll try that method! Very interesting.

 

What a fabulous method to determine fibers!