Q: I discovered these French kitchen towels called torchons that sell on Etsy for $20.00+ for one towel. The ones made out of "metis linen" seem to be more expensive. I found a set of six towels for $111.00. I would like to know what is so special about these towels. Why are they so pricey?
Sent by Heidi
Editor: Heidi, in regards to French linens like these, "metis" usually means a blend of cotton and linen. But I have seen it at times just referring to the general style of these vintage, rustic-style linens, so it doesn't seem to have a terribly consistent usage. Regardless, these linens are indeed quite expensive. This is partly due to their construction: real linen is very, very durable and only gets softer as it is washed. (Old, vintage linen bedsheets are simply heavenly to sleep in.) Also, I imageine you are paying for the antique and French provenance of these towels.
Readers, any insight? Do you keep linen towels like these in your kitchen?
Related: A Kitchen Linen Tour of Europe
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I scored a dozen or so vintage linen kitchen towels at a thrift store. It looked as though the original owner had bought them as souveniers of places they'd visited and then used them - maybe in picture frames - as kitchen art. I'm a bit more prosaic, and actually use them as hand towels. They soak up water forever and dry quickly. I do have to resist the urge to iron, however....
I think Americans are also predisposed to think that cheap is better, and we end up with a lot of throwaway crap that we have to keep replacing.
Let's think about these towels a bit more carefully. $111 / 6 = $18.5 / towel. If they are indeed true French, yarn-dyed, good-quality metis (usually a cotton + linen blend), they should be exceptionally durable. Assuming that you buy and use them for at least least 20 years, that's less than $1 / year / towel. Not so expensive after all!
"Torchon" in this context, btw, means "dust cloth."
A good quality kitchen towel is worth its weight in gold. They work better (absorb liquid, dry without lint) and wash better (release stains, don't shrink, don't get holes). Linen is wonderful in the kitchen. I have plenty of napkins that are going on ten years of use.
Why? Quality. I still have linen kitchen towels, in beautiful condition, that my grandmother used in another country (during wartime!). If I'd followed her lead, and bought only quality product, I wouldn't have thrown away so much tattered stuff during my lifetime. The point being that these really last, and do a better job (drying hands or glasses) than the cheap towels we typically find in shops, if you think they're expensive imagine buying a dozen of the cheaper hand towels because that's fairly close to the ratio of staying power (1 linen at a high price vs. 12 cheap towels) or at least that's been my experience.
(I also have many of her linen guest towels, monogrammed bed flat sheets, monogrammed pillowcases, a few tablecloths and dinner napkins).
You all have convinced me to buy a couple of linen towels and try them out, but a quick Internet search didn't turn up much in terms of new, pure linen dish/tea towels for sale. Is Etsy the go-to source for them? Are they all but impossible to find (Stateside) new?
Textiles, especially French linen, are something I collect; I have found several vintage dealers on Etsy.
But my best sources for new linen dishtowels, on Etsy, are two Lithuanian vendors:
Linen Me
http://www.etsy.com/shop/LinenbyInga?ref=ss_profile
and
JBWorld
http://www.etsy.com/shop/JBworld?ref=search_shop_redirect
I have also purchased from Quel Objet
http://www.quelobjet.com/linens-french-tea-towels-c-4_5.html
Bonne chance!
High-quality linen is expensive because it uses only the longest fibers of flax. Ever worn a cheap linen jacket or shirt that seems to get thinner each time you wash it? That's because most inexpensive linen is chock full of "tow," the super-short, fuzzy fibers that high-quality linen weeds out before being woven. Since there are fewer long fibers in each stalk of flax, you need more flax to make quality linen out of just the longer fibers. Hence the added expense.
So even though they cost $20/towel, high-quality linen towels (and sheets, which cost an arm and a leg), will last literally forever. Well, okay, not literally, but 50+ years is pretty close to forever when you're talking about fabric! And Faith is right - those bad boys will just get softer with washing!
They last forever, and you can boil wash them. I have antique French linens (some pre-war) that I use regularly. They look and feel especially beautiful when ironed.
the marketing tactic ....how much will the suckers pay.
(I work with pre WWII linen altar cloth at my church).
Linen is stronger wet than dry. If you iron, iron damp (not dripping though) and with tons of steam. Don't press in creases - the linen will eventually shatter along the fold line. When that happens on the hems, just cut along the shatter line and rehem. The piece will be good for years more.
I love linen - VintageJenta is correct - tow linens are lower quality. Look for 'line spun' pieces.