Kitchen & Table Linens

From the tortilla cloth to a foot-loom tablecloth:

the cloth that keeps tortillas warm in the basket is cotton, woven thick enough to hold the heat. Tablecloths split three ways. Traditional woven cloth comes off the foot looms of Salcajá and other highland towns, where the threads are tied and dyed before weaving, which is what gives Guatemalan ikat its soft, feathered patterns; a wide cloth from a backstrap loom is usually two narrower panels joined down the middle. Printed polyester and cotton blends are the everyday cloths, cheaper, quick to dry and happy without an iron. Plastic cloths wipe clean and suit a patio or a table full of children, but they crack along the folds. The plates that go on top are in dinnerware, and the platters for a party in serveware. Tablecloths are sold by the number of chairs as a rough guide. Measure the tabletop and allow a drop on every side that clears the seats; a round table needs a round cloth, or a square one that leaves its corners hanging.

Towels and oven mitts that take the heat of the stove:

a towel for drying glasses wants flat, lint-free cotton or linen. Terry towels soak up more but leave fluff on glass, and microfibre dries fast but melts against a hot pan. Oven mitts and pot holders are judged by their padding: a thin one that lets the heat through on a tray of sweet bread is a burn waiting to happen, and silicone grips better on a wet handle. The trays and tins they handle are in baking. Aprons in traditional handwoven cloth are more often a gift than a work garment.

Hand-tied ikat and the price of a printed cloth:

a woven tortilla cloth runs around Q25 new, little enough that used ones change hands in bundles, or along with the basket, rather than one at a time. The money is in loom-woven tablecloths and runners. A full-size ikat cloth costs many times what a printed polyester one does, because every thread was tied and dyed by hand before it reached the loom, and a used one keeps much of that value as long as the colours have not run and the fabric is sound along the folds. Printed cloths and towels resell for very little.

A used tablecloth held up to the window:

unfold it completely and look at the white or pale threads first. If they have turned pink or blue, the dye ran in an earlier wash and will not come back, whereas deep black in ikat slowly fading towards navy over years of washing is normal. Follow the old fold lines against the light, because years in a chest wear the fibre thin there, and check hems and knotted fringes for loose ends. Grey or black specks that survive a wash are mildew from damp storage. To tell real ikat from a print, turn it over: a woven pattern shows almost as strongly on the back, with blurred edges, while a print is crisp on the front and pale behind. Wash any traditional handwoven cloth alone in cold water the first few times, and expect it to shrink a little.

Measurements, fibre and the back of the cloth in a linen listing:

measure the cloth flat in both directions instead of writing how many chairs it fits, and name the fibre: cotton, polyester or a blend. Photograph it spread out in daylight, then close up on the weave and on the reverse, which is how a buyer tells loom work from a print, and show any stain rather than folding it out of sight. Say whether it has been washed and whether the colour ran. Napkins and tortilla cloths sell as a counted set, and event cloths, table overlays and chair sashes are easier to move together, listed with their sizes and colours. Handwoven tablecloths are a favourite gift for family living in the United States, so expect to be asked how bulky one is folded: a heavy foot-loom cloth takes up real room in a suitcase.