Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

French Country Home Linens… Guessing Game

                                               

French country home linens

In France every French country home had handmade linens. I daresay that their armoires, placards, chest of drawers and kitchen counters had stacks of them ready to use.
When at the brocantes the linens are either displayed in neat stacked piles on a table, or left as they were found cleaned, pressed and ready to use in boxes, or dumped out in a heap on the ground. It is sad to see such old handiwork dumped out on the ground…but usually it means the antique dealer doesn't care and wants to get rid of the linens quickly. As sad as it is, it is also a good sign for a buyer! I dumped out pile is a sign to jump into the heap and dig through and grab some treasures.

Every linen imaginable can be found at the French brocantes: dishtowels, napkins with monograms, pristine tablecloths, bed linens, blankets, towels, pillowcases…

                                               

French country home linens

                                              

French country home linens

Usually, the 19th century French household linens were made from white cotton or of natural hued linen. The French kitchen linens were typical embroidered in red with motifs of fruits, or kitchen utensils. The edges often were scalloped and trimmed by hand as well.                                            

French country home linens

Most French people who love the brocante will know in a heartbeat what type of linens these are. They won't even have to blink an eye or second guess. French country homes, and I don't mean the French country homes you see in magazines, but the 19th century classic French COUNTRY home had many of these…
                     Do you know what these linens were used for?

                                              

French country home linens

                                               French country home linens

                                               French country home linens

The first one to answer correctly will win the linen one. The most creative answer will win the cotton one.

Good Luck!

Tomorrow I will announce the winners, and have a giveaway to celebrate TONGUE IN CHEEK'S third birthday.

More about French Country homes:

French country style

French Kitchen ware

French linens on sale

Comments

110 responses to “French Country Home Linens… Guessing Game”

  1. dotsie

    Doilies, small cloths for a table.

    Reply
  2. Julie Ann

    Perhaps lining fruit or vegetable baskets ? Jx

    Reply
  3. Kristin Wight

    Since they have fruit on them… I am guessing napkins… or curtains?
    My wild guess… petticoats?

    Reply
  4. Julie Ann

    Lining for fruit and vegetable baskets ? Have just been looking back over the last few days – my but you are like your mum corey !x

    Reply
  5. Britt-Arnhild Lindland

    We have alot of them here in Norway as well. They are used to cover the more dirty dishclothes7dishtowles you use daily to dry the clean dishes. We have several made by my grandmothers at our cabin. I lack the English words, but some kind of rack is hung on the wall, hooks are one the wall for the in-use dishtowels and one of these are hung to cover, and to decorate the wall.

    Reply
  6. Massilianana

    Hmmmm….I think they were used to line shelves in cupboards or on the walls , to make them look pretty . My wild guess would be they were used to adorn the basket of the Little Red Riding Hood !!!

    Reply
  7. tut-tut

    Are they used to line shelves?

    Reply
  8. cathy

    kitchen towels,tablecloth,napkins. all are beautiful

    Reply
  9. Jeanne

    Napkins at a meal or as a placemat under your dishes.
    Love Jeanne
    I love all you share.
    Jeanne

    Reply
  10. Anna

    My grandmother uses similar clothes when she makes jams. She covers the jams with it to keep it warm after she puts the jam into the jars. I think it’s an important step in the jam-making procedure. So this is my guess.
    Have a nice day!

    Reply
  11. Jill Flory

    I would use them for dish towels in my kitchen. Is that what they were intended for?
    You could use them as wallhangings to cover the bad spots on your kitchen walls!
    You could also use them to make little dresses for little girls.
    Jill

    Reply
  12. Anna

    My grandmother uses similar clothes when she makes jams. She covers the jams with it to keep it warm after she puts the jam into the jars. I think it’s an important step in the jam-making procedure. So this is my guess.
    Have a nice day!

    Reply
  13. Jill Flory

    Just another thought, are they big enough to be tablecloths?
    jill

    Reply
  14. Marty52

    Are they bread basket linens? Y’know, the ones used to line bread baskets, then you put the bread in and drape the edges of the cloth over to keep it warm? Maybe? ;0)

    Reply
  15. ina and gumby

    corey … they are for edging the kitchen cabinet shelves and armoire shelves so it looks pretty … oui … c’est ça … bisous …

    Reply
  16. Evelyn

    I think these were napkins. They look wonderful.

    Reply
  17. Christy in Texas

    I think they were used for practical, everyday jobs, but made beautiful to make the work more enjoyable! Jobs like doing dishes, covering bowls and plates of food, condiments, bread….I believe possession of lovely linens was a sign of wealth and was thought to contribute to the quality of daily life.

    Reply
  18. constance lefevre forehand

    they are dish towels or aprons.

    Reply
  19. Gracie

    I guess they are for kitchen shelves….or to cover the bread basket on the table. Thanks for sharing, anyway.

    Reply
  20. Lynn

    In my house I would use them as a dishtowel but that can’t be the real use of them. My guess is going to be a shelf liner with the scalloped edges hanging down over the edge. The modern day contact paper.

    Reply
  21. Beverly

    I’m horrible at these guessing games, and I usually have no idea! But today, with the cherries around the bottom of the linens, my guess would be that these are dish towels to dry the washed dishes.
    They are beautiful.

    Reply
  22. Karin

    My guess would be shelf edging, and I see I am not the only one who think so. 🙂 Whatever their use, they are beautiful.

    Reply
  23. suesue

    i think they were used for breadbaskets but i’d use them for a curtain or valance!

    Reply
  24. Suzanne, the Farmer’s Wife

    I was also going to say to line shelves.
    – Suzanne, the Farmer’s Wife

    Reply
  25. linda

    Good morning Corey, I see you have no hangover from your birthday celebration!! ;>) My guess would be basket liners. Have a great day.

    Reply
  26. Sheala Feeney

    I see my guesses aren’t very original….. I was thinking they are “bun warmers” or shelf liners. Or maybe little curtains for the space under the kitchen sink???

    Reply
  27. Isa

    Oooo! I could be wrong, but I say they are beautiful tea towels! (At least that’s what my Noni called hers) not to be confused with dish towels which you dry dishes but also wipe your counters down with) Tea towels are spread on tea trays, under the teapot and cups or used to cover pastries or the teapot to keep the contents warm.
    Those are beautiful ones, Corey!
    Isa

    Reply
  28. Marie-Nëlle

    I’m French and 2 of my great-grand-mothers were country ladies… Both of them had plenty of those in their houses – in Beaujolais…
    (I think “houses” is evasive enough not to help your readers).
    I shall play the spectator this time and shan’t share in the game. Fair !

    Reply
  29. Isa

    P.s. I somehow hit post before I could say in my previous comment, that in addition to lining tea trays and covering food to keep warm, Noni used her tea towels to dry china and crystal and said they were made of linen so they wouldn’t scratch.
    =)

    Reply
  30. nancy

    oh i am actually gonna try! 😉 corey 😉 were they used in the pantries, to cover the jars and containers of food and preservatives made for the ie winter? the linens were also embroided as such to identity the food that they were actually covering, plus it just looks nice…is that it?? so the linen had both practical and aesthetic function…..(ok i hope what i wrote makes sense…i just woke up….;)
    xxnancy

    Reply
  31. Janell

    I think they were pinned to the wall behind a jug of water and bowl used to wash up in a bedroom. In American country homes of the late 1800’s they would be called “splash guards”. I design quilts and embroidery items using “redwork” original pieces like these. It was delightful to see your vintage pieces when I checked your blog this morning!

    Reply
  32. Nancy

    Why, they are Chamber Pot skirts, of course!
    Who wants to look at an unsightly white and red enamel pee pot when you can give one a sassy skirt instead? The red work accents the typical red color trim of the potty and adds a touch of flair and beauty to an ugly privvy.
    😉
    (Of course, I posted this “tongue in cheek”!)

    Reply
  33. welltraveled10judi

    These are from very wealthy homes and the butler used them to shine boots and swat flies…

    Reply
  34. kristy

    I’d say they were shelf edge trims but I think they would make great rockabilly skirts for little mice!

    Reply
  35. La Donna

    A Cart Cover!?!

    Reply
  36. Isabel ~ Maison Douce

    I would say they are liners for trays… My mom always lines her serving tray with a beautiful linen, it makes us feel special!
    Isabel

    Reply
  37. Catalina

    They are used to put on the top of “Confiture” jars 🙂 to close them
    or
    They are fairy skirts! (at least I know they would love to use them)
    or
    They are magical envelopes to send love messages from one side of the table to another one, pretending the napkins where placed in the wrong place…
    🙂

    Reply
  38. elle

    I think they were used for shelf edging . Tacked or nailed to the edge of the shelves.

    Reply
  39. Melissa’s Cozy Teacup

    Dish clothes for washing dishes?

    Reply
  40. Ardi

    Were they to decorate the edges of shelving in a pantry or cupboard?

    Reply
  41. Deb

    How sweet these are! Would they maybe be used as breakfast table linens…placemats, table protectors? Have a nice day Corey! Deb

    Reply
  42. Marilyn

    My Norwegian grandmother used something similar to line shelves in her dish cabinets, so maybe shelf liners?

    Reply
  43. martina

    To put over or with jelly jars and pies?

    Reply
  44. angela

    Are they seat covers? No, not potty seats tho’ I do love that answer but you know the kind you cover a cushion in an informal kitchen chair? Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Corey, who knows you may start a new tradition in France!

    Reply
  45. shannon in oregon

    they were used for straining the juices of the jellies they would be canning. the fruit along the edge designated which fruit would be strained through that particular fabric…

    Reply
  46. Suzanne

    Linens to use in the bread basket?
    Hug*

    Reply
  47. Dee

    Perhaps they were used to wrap fresh bread in to serve for breakfast…with fresh butter and homemade jams. OK…now I’m hungry and I need to go eat breakfast. 🙂 Love the pictures…love…love…love the linens!

    Reply
  48. hayseed

    My guess isn’t very creative- but could they be tablecloths?

    Reply
  49. becky up the hill

    Oh no..please don’t say toilet paper er..towels. No!

    Reply
  50. Kris

    Well now, let me see??? Hummmmm How about dresser scarves, or cup covers when outside, or perhaps Christmas tree skirt?
    I’m curious now. I can’t wait to hear the answer.
    Kris

    Reply
  51. Rosemary

    They look like dishtowels to me. Hard to say, but very pretty.
    Rosemary

    Reply
  52. ceylon sapphire

    oooh… it isnt the pretty second layer part of certain ‘unmentionables’ that a young lady would wear to keep her modesty intact would it? Forbidden fruit and all that?
    I have no idea, but I do envy you and being able to find such glorious linens (on the ground no less!) at markets. Have you guessed that Im into needle arts and every time you show photos of embriodery I swoon? 🙂
    Courtney

    Reply
  53. Wandering Chopsticks

    I usually don’t guess because I’m horrible at your guessing games, but something related to jams and canning came to mind. I wondered if the linens were smaller than they initially appeared, the kind that go over the jars as covers?

    Reply
  54. Deborah P

    Table runners, in lieu of table cloths?
    My wild guess is a headscarf to bind up the hair of the chef!

    Reply
  55. Darla

    I haven’t read the comments of others yet but I’m going to take a mad stab and say shelf covering/edging. Pretty little scallops to hang over the edge of your shelf.
    Darla

    Reply
  56. Vanessa

    Are they used to cover food on the table to keep out the bugs?

    Reply
  57. Shannon

    My guess is they were used to line fruit bowls.

    Reply
  58. Stacy

    I vote pie covers! unless there is no such thing. ha

    Reply
  59. Mélanie Aussandon

    aren’t they lampshades ??

    Reply
  60. Nancy

    To me, and my untrained eye, they look like pretty aprons for FH to wear when he dusts the house.

    Reply
  61. Cheryl in California

    Are they dishtowels used to dry glass items only?

    Reply
  62. Isa

    It’s me again. It was driving me crazy that I remembered the uses for Noni’s tea towels, but I could not remember the name, so I called my mother. She just got back to me, and what I call a tea towel, Noni called it a torchon. Is that what these sweet linens are?
    Isa

    Reply
  63. Tamara ModernGear TV

    They look like tablecloths but that would be way too simple! How about this…
    Once in a while (after a big family meal like Thanksgiving or Christmas) we have so many dishes to wash by hand that they overflow the dish rack, and we have to put a dishtowel or two on the counter, and stack freshly-washed dishes onto it for the designated dryer (DD) to pick up when he or she (usually a she, let’s be honest) can get to them.
    The counter gets soggy but I bet this could be what these linens are for, so that the task is at least a pretty one. That sounds very French and fanciful to me.
    Tamara

    Reply
  64. Marilyn

    They are shelf liners. The scalloped edge hang over the edge of the shelf for decoration. Oh, would I love to have them, they would look so beautiful on my kitchen shelf.

    Reply
  65. Sherlock Holmes

    What wonderful photographs of your beautiful linens that line shelves and dribble their adorable scallops over the edge for all to admire. The original shelf liners avant contact paper, and oh so less sticky and yucky. That is my best guess! What a fun game for a Monday morning. Thanks for sharing the lovely images. SH

    Reply
  66. Monica Roberts

    The embroidered linens you’re showing are shelf liners for the cupboards they kept their dishes and sundry items in. The scalloped trim hangs over the edge. I have them lining my huge French kitchen armoire. Sorry I’m so late posting … I really like to win things!

    Reply
  67. candy

    I have no idea what they were used for but I will venture a guess…maybe they were used to wrap the baguettes to keep them warm until dinner.

    Reply
  68. caren

    i think they used them to line their baskets when they go to the market each day.

    Reply
  69. meredith

    I hope I’m not too late to play…let’s see…I think french country women used these linens to wrap just picked cherries and apricots and put them in their wicker market baskets and carried them off to market.

    Reply
  70. Lorrie

    I’m going to guess that they hang below the kitchen countertops as skirts instead of doors on cupboards.
    They are beautiful, whatever they might be used for.
    As the Frenchwoman embroidered her household linens, she stitched her dreams and hopes and fantasies into each piece. Then, on moonlit summer evenings, enchanted by the stars, she would wrap her embroidered cloths around her waist and tiptoe out of the house down to a quiet stream or forest clearing, and dance there beneath the twinkling sky.

    Reply
  71. Tammy

    well I am awful at this game but here goes my best shot. I think they were used as decoration in the kitchen or used to wipe up things. They would also make a nice touch under a bouquet of flowers.
    love and blessings

    Reply
  72. Patty Cole

    my guess….chimney runner
    thank you

    Reply
  73. Lorilee

    Are they Chimney runners, with decorative scallops and embroidery allowed to drape down?
    Blessings,
    Lorilee

    Reply
  74. Denese

    Crud. I am just so not good at winning things. If I’m right, I’m late. If I am witty I am not as witty as someone else (The Little Red Riding Hood comment wins the creative entry for me).
    I love linens. I have some in a basket in our kitchen displayed (above) the ugly dish towels. And no, we don’t use them.
    I would probably try to put one or more of these on my head (I don’t know why). Or I would make a skirt out of them if I could stand to deface them (which I probably couldn’t).
    Some things are just not meant to be used. Old things have earned that right.
    Denese

    Reply
  75. Lorilee

    Oops! I see someone beat me posting my guess!
    Blessings,
    Lorilee

    Reply
  76. Mahala

    To keep bread warm or for holding bread?

    Reply
  77. Joanny

    Corey
    I still have my mothers and grand meres dating back to the 1800’s… my great grand mere linens are lost. Actually I only had one beautiful piece of hand made lace hankerchief — it was museum quality but I lost it? I know I should have had it framed…
    My mother used them to line the shelves in the cabinets — but that was what she used them for and sometimes for special occasions
    she used them for liners in baskets and stuffed goodies in them and gave them as gifts.
    Joanny

    Reply
  78. Franca Bollo

    Underpinnings for can-can dancers in training.

    Reply
  79. JulieKP

    They look like the linen that you line a bread basket with.

    Reply
  80. Die Rabenfrau

    Oh, I like your guessing games! Well, I think they were used to line shelfs in kitchen and pantry.
    Love
    Rabenfrau

    Reply
  81. Lavender Dreamer

    My guess was going to be to line shelves…but I use similar cloths to place over bread while it is rising! So beautiful!

    Reply
  82. Merisi

    They were used to decorate the fronts of the shelves of cupboards, or the like. They still do this in Austrian country homes.

    Reply
  83. Barbara Vasko

    testing, testing…thanks for the hints on posting. hope this works. SHELF liners sand trims! I know now i am about 200th…
    also, watch out wild girl. when some blonds turn 60 they put purple streaks in their hair.
    bv

    Reply
  84. kay

    ..they are ruffs to decorate the neck of your petite french poodle!!!

    Reply
  85. Vicki

    Shelf liners……they are so pretty!!!

    Reply
  86. david

    Well,
    I’m not sure my English is good enough to explain it as clearly as I would like but I will try anyway.
    As far as I can remember, they were used to line the border of the the built-in hoot that runs across the length of the kitchen. At the time of my grandma, there was a huge cooker underneath that hoot and these linens were running along the edge of the mantelpîece of this built-in hoot.And above the mantelpiece there were different tablewares and some had the same type of decoration on them, just like the ones you can see in one of the links you gave Corey.
    Don’t know if it’s clear, though…

    Reply
  87. michelle

    well, i was also going to say runner of some sort… i know i am not the first, but a runner for a shelf, a table or a chimney…
    your gorgeous photographs and stories of your vintage finds always makes me sigh from this sigh of the world!

    Reply
  88. heather

    the square of linen under the fruit basket on the breakfast table maybe? or pie linen to cover the pie until serving?

    Reply
  89. Elaine

    how about a simple answer, such as they dried the dishes with them??
    Elaine

    Reply
  90. Wylie

    Would they have been edging for shelves? Pretty little scalloped edging?

    Reply
  91. Y

    runners for kitchen cabinets. 🙂

    Reply
  92. Bonnie Buckingham

    for the trousseau….and my oldest
    just proposed to his love! Wedding is
    in the summer!
    Bonnie

    Reply
  93. TACE

    Oh Mouse bundle-ers!
    I haven’t seen those in a long time, and the ones I did see were not near as nice. I think that’s just human nature though, decorating up the most mundane and practical items. Cause hey, if we have to have a broom propped up against the door why not a glittery pink handled one? Same with the mouse bundle-ers, though most people use other removal means now, in the olden days the people just chased the mice down. Till they lay panting and out of breath on the kitchen floor, oh it was always the kitchen floor, and then they bundled them up in the *reserved for mice* bundling cloths and delivered them back to the out of doors where they should have stayed in the first place. You can’t confuse a mouse bundle-er, even a lovely embroidered one with a live trap, not the same at all as the mouse bundle-er does no trapping at all but the human does, and all the bundle-er does is keeps them from having to lay hands directly upon the a fore mentioned mouse. Quite clever really, and no wonder they added distinctive embroidery, one can’t have one’s belle-mere drying her face with a mouse bundle-er can one? And of course in the reverse one can’t have one’s friends bundling up mice in your best kitchen dish towel or handkerchief. Can you imagine the squabbles and misunderstandings that were had before a standard mouse bundle-er design was agreed upon by all?

    Reply
  94. Nancy ~ Fete et Fleur

    Boy this is a hard one. . . could they have possibly been used on a special table for tea or something like that? Congratulations on three glorious years of blogging!
    Nancy

    Reply
  95. Denise Moulun-Pasek

    I believe these linens were used as makeshift doors to kitchen cabinets. I’ve noticed that often lower cabinets are left open (without a door).

    Reply
  96. Lynda

    I think they’re used to decorate the edge of the shelf in a cupboard … very pretty ones too!
    xo,
    Lynda

    Reply
  97. Laura

    Ladies’ handkerchiefs? Oh! Luncheon/tea party napkins!!! That’s what I’d use them for!

    Reply
  98. Billie

    I think they were used as a signal. They peeped out their bright red and white scallops, from under drab, daily work skirts, as a signal that it was ooooh la-la time… our version is horridly over priced ladies lingerie… another signal for the same thing! Afterwards, the ladies could wrap their buns in them to keep them warm!! Oooops! NPI
    B

    Reply
  99. Sandy

    to cover fresh baked bread?

    Reply
  100. Chris

    I think they are kitchen curtains. Very cute handmade kitchen curtains.
    Chris in Sacramento

    Reply
  101. Gina

    To cover pots of homemade jam?

    Reply
  102. naomi

    I have neither speed nor creativity today – or knowledge for that matter! But I have HOPE, and so I will wager a guess. I haven’t had time to read through the other entries . . . but I’m thinking they would not have been worn. My best guess is either dusting or polishing cloths.
    I hope you had a very happy turkey-less thanksgiving. I am thankful for the cheer and insight your blog brings me.

    Reply
  103. Elaine L.

    Oooooo, I love Britt Arnhild’s guess. What a great idea!
    ~elaine~

    Reply
  104. Eunice

    Dish towels! We had several in my home growing up!!

    Reply
  105. Genevieve

    Petite Beaux Peep’s Bloomer Edgings?

    Reply
  106. stljoie

    Napkins…or dish towels.

    Reply
  107. pam

    I think they are for covering homemade fruit pies after they have cooled on the back porch, to keep the flies away and children’s fingers from sneeking a taste.

    Reply
  108. Tia Muminguz

    I think they were used to scrub the berry stained faces of the boogery faced enfants as they snarfed down the delicable treats provided by “ses bonne mamans”

    Reply
  109. Tia Muminguz

    oops, I meant “delectable” treats..

    Reply
  110. Janice Steffey

    I would love to have a Vintage Postcard. Janice

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions