Any linen recommendations?

I know there's a lot of cotton that has small prints. So maybe you can search for that instead? It's natural, and the fabric is thinner than linen so also good for dolls.

 

You could try searching for "vintage printed linen handkerchiefs" and "vintage printed linen men's handkerchiefs."

 

Good idea!

You could also search sites that sell to historical reenactors. I've bought some very narrow striped linen and some sprigged with tiny flowers from 18th Century reenactment traders in the past.

If you really can't find small enough patterns, have you thought of fabric painting onto plain handkerchief linen? It would only need small amounts for dolls clothes (which I'm assuming is what you want it for). If you want a repeat pattern and don't want to paint it over and over again, you could try looking for a rubber stamp in the right design.

Teddy

 

Two more possibilities:

• I found nearly 4000 results searching for "handkerchief fabric" on Etsy -- most are linen or cotton, and some are yardage rather than actual handkerchiefs: https://www.etsy.com/market/handkerchief_fabric
• while it's cotton rather than linen, Liberty Tana Lawn fabric is a classic for doll-scale and other lightweight sewing, and Liberty prints are beautiful. This Etsy shop specializes in Liberty fabrics (Welcome to our Shop specialising in Liberty fabrics by Alicecarolinesupply), and there are many Etsy sellers who offer vintage Liberty prints. And of course there's Liberty's own website: Cotton Lawn Fabric

 

If you do give that a try, please share the results so we can see how you got on.

Teddy

 

You really should - it's pricey but their Tana Lawn is a lovely weight and drape for dolls clothes.

Teddy

 

I've been recommended this too I'm looking into getting my first lot as I'd also found it hard to find fabric with a pattern to scale and a nice drape.

 

You can also acquire fabric that can be printed on using your inkjet printer. I have seen various weights and textures, so you could get something that is a "linen-look".

Also look for "heirloom fabrics"; often there are handkerchief-weight fabrics available.

 

I currently go to second-hand shops and look through the baby/child clothes racks. I find that's the best place near me for cheap tiny prints and you can get some really nice stuff. I then rip the seams apart to get the fabric.

 

If you don't want to hand paint or stamp fabric, there's also Bubble Jet Set 2000, which I've used to prepare silk for printing with a regular inkjet printer, but any medium weight or thin fabric should work with it. It's nicer than having to buy prepared fabric, because it ends up being less expensive per piece of fabric, and you can use whichever fabric you want. I buy mine from Dharma Trading. (Their website says it's for 100% cotton or silk, but linen should act like cotton in this case.)

 

I order from FabricStore.com for my historical costuming. I believe you can get swatch packs of small pieces if you're interested in seeing what they carry.