Pre-treat it in exactly the same way you will clean it after sewing.

If you want washable drapery panels, wash the fabric. And make sure everything else is washable, too.

Is it clothing linen or drapery linen? Clothing linen was made to be washed while drapery linen was not. If it's drapery linen, and you wash it, be prepared for major wrinkles and major shrinking. Each time you wash it, it will shrink some more. Then it may stretch out a bit when hanging, but shrink some more when washed again. Dry cleaning is no better. SO, if it's a drapery linen, just vacuum to keep clean. :)

ETA, if you have enough to spare, maybe try washing a small sample. That way, you can see what it'll do if it's washed first.

This post was edited by shadylady2u on Wed, May 28, 14 at 11:50