Mangles and Mangling machines

What is a Mangle:

A mangle is a mechanical laundry aid, consisting of two rollers connected by cogs that are used to press linens flat. The original version was intended as a rinsing device, to wring out as much water as possible, but before long this use was replaced by the ironing one we know today. Mangles for pressing gained in popularity with built in cloths or mangling cloths that would protect the items being mangled and help avoid them getting tangled on the rollers. The pictures below will give you an idea of what old mangles look like.

Most household linens had to be ironed in the days before permanent press processes. Linen especially is not as soft and pleasant to the touch unless it has been ironed. Mangles were essential aids in the days of all-linen households. The mangles were either owned by the family or the laundry was taken to the old version of a laundromat, where one could rent a mangle or have items mangled. Linen can be heated more than any other fiber, so most often the mangling cloths are made of linen (flax).

Mangle cloths, Farmer Cloths, Mangle:

The old mangle cloths, especially the ones from Germany, are especially popular today. They are used for tablecloths (think French provincial banquet cloths), curtains (2 mangle cloths with an edge folded over to form a sleeve), upholstery, and many other purposes. Generally a German mangle cloth will be between 32 and 36 inches wide, and between 110 and 120 inches long. They often have a stripe on the side, usually red, but sometimes blue, yellow or even purple. The stripes were a guide for inserting the cloth into the machine.

Since linen can withstand the highest heat, the mangle cloths are made of linen, and become softer and shinier with use.

The picture below shows Eddie Ross explaining mangle cloths and their uses at a recent Scott Antique Show in Atlanta where Touch of Europe had a booth

Current use:

The possible uses are infinite. Mangles have been used in all kinds of things from bedspreads, curtains, tablecloths, runners, upholstered pieces and more. We have posted a number of pictures we’ve collected over the years to show you some examples.

The first set is a chair and bed skirt, and also some pillows made with vintage linens. This was done by a customer of ours. The pillows are vintage tea towels!

If you would like to make a curtain set like the one shown below, instructions are at the bottom of this post. The set requires 3 mangles, a straight stitch on a sewing machine, 3 seams, some measuring tape and curtain rods. It won’t take more than an hour at most to make and anyone who can sew a straight stitch can make this.

To make a 3 piece valance set:

You will need 3 mangle cloths.  Neutral thread, tape measure, fabric marker.

Measure the windows (make sure the rods are up before you measure.  You will need 2 rods, one for the curtain panels and one for the valance)

For the curtain panels: fold over the short side of the mangle to obtain the desired length (forming a valance of sorts).  Mark the fold and stitch a sleeve the width of the rod plus a little bit for ease.  Be sure to measure both mangle cloths.  The curtains pictured were not identical, there was a 1 inch difference, so the folded piece was shorter for one of them to make sure it was even.

For the valance.  Measure the drop you want, and fold the mangle in the width.  Stitch a sleeve the same way as you did for the curtain panels.  Hang the whole set up and enjoy.

One possible variant: if the folded over piece for the curtain panels is quite large, you can cut a piece off and use it to make a tie-back for each curtain panel.

It’s hard to believe we’ve been back almost a month and haven’t really posted much here about the show. We show at La Bahia, in Burton, right before Round Top on Texas 237. It’s easy to find, a big building, just after coming off 290, or just before getting to 290, depending on which way you are driving!

If you are on Facebook, we’ve posted a lot of pictures here, but better late, than never, here are some pictures, lost in the shuffle after we got back, in the crazy hurry to get the store done and read.

Here are some pictures of the ‘before’ part of the show. We spend half a day setting up the ‘bones’ of the booth. Lucky for us, we aren’t in a tent, and actually have floors. That helps a lot. And being inside, while sometimes a challenge with the heat. also means less issues with weather.

Our booth is almost 1,000 sq ft. Quite large. We set up walls, tables, beds and more. Add in lights and more ‘stuff. All this before the fun can actually begin.

The next morning (usually the last Friday of March for the Spring show, and the last Friday of September for the Fall show), we start bright and early, fortified with plenty of coffee.

The sheet racks are one of the first things that gets done, because they need to be done when nothing is in the way

These sheets are French, all one of a kind, mostly from 1900 or earlier. The monograms are always works of art.

Then the bed gets set up and we keep unpacking.

By the end of the day, we’ve done the biggest part of the work, but it will take another 4-5 hours to be done. All the while customers are already in the building, so they see things being unpacked. Sometimes we don’t even get to put items on display, they sell right out of the box. Easy for us.

Since it was Spring, and close to Easter, we had an Easter and Spring area

By the end of the day, we’re looking almost this good

The other end of the booth gets set up, usually we have a lot of vintage and antique clothing, and more bedding, homespuns, linen on the bolt and sacks. For Fall we have a lot coming in, more than we had this past Spring.

Then it’s time to start fluffing and add in all the details that make the booth inviting

We were so lucky with wonderful weather this past Spring. We hope you will come visit us in Fall! The next show is September 24 through October 2nd. La Bahia is on Texas 237, almost immediately after the turn-off from the main road between Houston and Austin – on the right, you can’t miss the big building! Hours are 8 AM to 6 PM.

We never bring the same items to shows twice. So everything in Fall will be new. Meanswhile, we’re bringing out new displays of vintage linens in the store, so if you are not too far, come visit us at 1765 Roswell Road NE, Marietta, GA 20063. We are open Wednesday to Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM. We are also open by appointment, you can call Toll Free 866-764-2975.

This tutorial appeared on the blog written by Rachel at Smile and Wave.  It is the perfect way to use and display doilies in a new and fresh way – and it’s simple!  The results are just lovely and will fit in so many different types of home decor – see the result for yourself:

(Image used with permission from the Author)

Some of her really cool suggestions include using different colors, to get a variegated effect, or to try with colored doilies (and we’ve been itching to try our hand at dying linens since it’s such a huge thing in Europe right now).  She also recommends making sure the background fabric is a little bit different so the design shows up, but not too different, so it doesn’t steal the show.

I’m now going to go dig through doily boxes and make one too!

We start setting up on September 25, and will be open to the public from September 26 to October 3. Our booth is still the BIG one in the building, with more and more wonderful treasures from Europe – don’t miss us!  Burton is on the road to Round Top – see map

If you need directions – look here

Since we sort of forgot to post the show information other than our ad that appeared in several publications, we thought we’d share some of the pictures of our booth. The general consensus seems to have been ‘Wow’. It was 48 by 31 feet and huge. We considered walkie-talkies and megaphones and settled for just walking more.

Set up began on March 26. 4 of us worked most of the day to get the framework in place. Walls, racks, lights, tables and so on. Friday, under pouring rain, the actual unloading of the 26 foot truck began.

By the looks of it, even the cabin was full

The other end of the booth looked something like this, with a set up that included 4 beds

It’s still a work in progress at this point

Toward the middle part, the lamps looked very elegant

The front of the booth with some of the sheets

This was the only part that got any daylight this time, even though we now have 9 windows. The Texas wind interfered with our plans, and we had to keep them shut almost all the time. It was cold too!

The new sheet racks did the job but need sturdier rods, those sheets are h e a v y!

The booth was an L shape, with this part being the long end.

This wheelbarrow was full of bunnies (plush ones) but they sold out fast so we had to improvise. The Easter linens did not stay neat for long.

This end of the booth was always messy because the bolts of fabric kept running away. It’s narrow too, so quite a challenge. But nobody seemed to mind the mess and everyone loves digging for treasures!

The bed corner was quite inviting

some more general pictures