Wash your linen cap

Read how to maintain and wash a cap that is made of a linen fabric. Washing and cleaning the baseball cap, flatcap, sixpence, eightpiece or drivers cap of linen or flax.

Flax material properties

Flax is often used in the manufacture of summer clothes. The fabric regulates body temperature well, while sending a relaxed appearance and a casual look.

Positive

Comfort
Shiny
Heat conductive
High absorbency

Negative

Wrinkles
Sensitive to stains, and attracting grime when wet
Fades quickly when wet in the sun

Flax caps should always be washed by hand. That is, with a mild soap and in water that has lukewarm water. After washing a flax flatcap or basecap, the fabric will become softer and more absorbent. Therefore, do not wash too often. Machine washing of Wilgart caps can ruin the shade of the cap, and should be avoided.

Still, if you prefer ironing, do it while the cap is still damp. Otherwise, iron with steam at medium-to-hot temperature. Always use a thin cloth between the iron and your cap while ironing, or there will be visible glances on the fabric that will not disappear. Otherwise, after washing, you can fill the cap well, with a clean tea towel or similar, and steam shake the cap. Use medium to hot temperature plus steam. To avoid ironing marks, always have a piece of fabric in between the iron and your cap when ironing the cap.

If you accidentally overheat, crunch or over dry your linen and it becomes wrinkled, just damp it and the wrinkles will relax after a period of use. For a small wrinkle, wet the cap with a spray bottle of water, or just let it relax by itself over a day or two. Overheating and iron marks from irons can be difficult to remove, especially on bright colored summer caps.
If there are small creases in the cap, you can steam it by spraying water on the cap with an atomizer and then leaving it to air dry for a day or two.

How to wash a linen cap

Massage the cap carefully in lukewarm or cold water
Hand wash only and do not dry near a heating device.
Stuff the cap with something when it dries. This will help the fibers regain the caps original shape. This will help the flax fibres to rediscover the original shape and shape of the cap.

Be careful not to leave it in the sun while wet. Wet linen will bleach; lose its color, 6 times faster than dry linen. You can air-dry it or iron the fabric while it is still damp, not wet. Wet flax will bleach quickly, losing color 6 times faster than dry flax. You can air dry it or iron the fabric when the cap is still damp, but not if it is wet.

Always have a thin cloth between the iron and the cap. Ironing after wash will reduce the natural occurring wrinkles of linen cloth. If you iron after washing the cap, they will reduce unevenness in the material. If there are small creases in the cap, you can steam it by spraying water on the cap with a nebulizer, and then leave it to air dry for a day or two.

For linen, it is better to go along with the lively expression and relaxed vibe of the fabric, than trying to shape it with steam ironing. Instead of trying to achieve a perfectly smooth surface without folds and edges.