Ever had a pair of jeans you liked from the start but they kept getting softer and smoother and fit better with ever wearing and washing? Like that. And Rough doesn't mean scratchy and bumpy. It means natural and not overly refined -- slightly rustic -- but still luxurious.

But if you aren't convinced, leaves more for those os us who love them. Spealing of which, time for me to go slip between mine.

Ha! Nite nite, lascatx :). Hmmm, maybe they send samples.

Agree with Lascatx explanation. Trish from Rough Linen will send samples. They really are great sheets. The smooth white are my favorite and I have the pillow slips to match. Also have a pinky for the kitchen. I may order some fun kitchen towels soon.

Goodl luck!

I don't have Rough Linen sheets but I do have the RH linen sheets - stonewashed on my bed and vintage washed on DD'S bed. Love them! They're so comfy they make us want to stay in bed all day!

I wash new sheets a few times in vinegar and baking soda before using and they get softer over time.

If you sign up for her newsletters, she will send you samples. I finally broke down and ordered. Haven't put on bed yet, as I'm waiting on blanket to be made (etsy). But the sheets feel wonderful as delivered.

I don't have Rough Linen sheets. This past September, I got a R Linen duvet cover by combining gift certificates that I had saved up.

While researching, I ordered a free swatch sample of their fabric choices. I chose Orkney in the color "white". I like the weight and texture of my duvet cover. I live in So. Calif. and prefer to take the comforter out of the cover and store it during the spring & summer months. During those months, I use the duvet cover on top of the bed like a "coverlet".

I have not washed the duvet cover, yet. It has stayed very clean since I use a flat sheet in between myself & the cover. My flat & fitted sheets are from Pottery Barn (in spring & summer). Fall & winter sheets are LLBean flannel. My sheets are white and the R Linen "white" is more of a "natural" or "ivory" in my opinion. I think it still goes nicely with my white sheets.

peppapoodle - The first two photos were taken in September when I had just received R Linen Orkney cover. There was no comforter inside the cover at that time & I had only taken close up photos. One photo has a swatch of fabric that I was considering to use for sewing new pillow shams.

The last photos were taken today & the comforter is inside the cover.

<a href="http://s153.photobucket.com/user/Laurie_K_photos/media/Master%20Bedroom/2015-09-26%20-%20%20Rough%20Linen%20Orkney%20White%20Duvet%20Cover%20009.jpg.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s221/Laurie_K_photos/Master%20Bedroom/2015-09-26%20-%20%20Rough%20Linen%20Orkney%20White%20Duvet%20Cover%20009.jpg"; border="0" alt=" photo 2015-09-26 - Rough Linen Orkney White Duvet Cover 009.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s153.photobucket.com/user/Laurie_K_photos/media/Master%20Bedroom/2015-09-26%20-%20%20Rough%20Linen%20Orkney%20White%20Duvet%20Cover%20016.jpg.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s221/Laurie_K_photos/Master%20Bedroom/2015-09-26%20-%20%20Rough%20Linen%20Orkney%20White%20Duvet%20Cover%20016.jpg"; border="0" alt=" photo 2015-09-26 - Rough Linen Orkney White Duvet Cover 016.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s153.photobucket.com/user/Laurie_K_photos/media/Master%20Bedroom/2016-01-10%20-%20MB%20009.jpg.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s221/Laurie_K_photos/Master%20Bedroom/2016-01-10%20-%20MB%20009.jpg"; border="0" alt=" photo 2016-01-10 - MB 009.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s153.photobucket.com/user/Laurie_K_photos/media/Master%20Bedroom/2016-01-10%20-%20MB%20011.jpg.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s221/Laurie_K_photos/Master%20Bedroom/2016-01-10%20-%20MB%20011.jpg"; border="0" alt=" photo 2016-01-10 - MB 011.jpg"/></a>

I need to learn to post photos in a different way than when I did so back in the "Garden Web" days...sorry about that. I'll try again...

I have some, have had them about a year. They were rather stiff and scratchy the first 4 or 5 washings, now they are super soft. I line dry them but first put them in the dryer on "delicate" for 20 minutes--they come out still wet but close to damp. Easier to get on the line when damp than straight out of the washer. The small amount of drying also gets the creases out, so they are quite smooth when dry.

I never found mine to be scratchy, but maybe I am just less sensitive. They definitely get softer and I expect them to last forever. I iron the pillowslips. I love that all the sheets are flat whichmakes it easier for me to make the bed (and I can pull the bottom sheet good and tight). Linen is naturally anti-bacterial. The sheets are warm in winter and cool in summer (don't ask me how that works, but it does). I have the smooth white for the sheets and pillowslips. I also use the summer cover as a bedspread in my guest room-my guests all have said they like the sheets a lot!

I also am a convert to Trish's linen towels. A dear friend who visits us once or twice a year also likes the towels. She said she didn't expect them to work as well as terry, but they did! Both are always available to her. She always uses the linen. I like that they are a little bit rough and they dry quickly.

We slept on linen sheets for the first time this summer. I got a set of stonewashed linen from RH on clearance. I have some Orkney products from Rough Linen and, while not exactly the same, I thought it was an affordable way to assess if we liked the feel of linen before the much greater investment with RL.

I thought these would be our warm weather sheets only, but we like them so much we haven't gone back to our cotton sheets. It seems counterintuitive when you think of the rougher texture of linen vs. a smooth cotton, but the linen bedding feels more cloud-like. Hard to explain but as a comparison - think of a sheet of smooth copy paper (smooth cotton sheets) vs. a sheet of vellum (washed linen sheets). While the parchment has more texture it has a softer, finer feel.

I don't iron my sheets, but smooth them as soon as they're out of the dryer. I do run a quick press over the pillow cases. They get rumpled after a night's sleep, but never develop deep creases.

I've had my RL sheets and pillow slips (in smooth white) for a year. From the first time I put them on our bed, I haven't used our cotton sheets ever. The have gotten softer with so many washings, but they are not like the cotton sheets. Exactly like lascatx described. I love sleeping on them. They wash beautifully. I dry them to damp and than drape them over the headboard and footboard with the ceiling fan on to dry the rest of the way. They dry very quickly when draped, and the wrinkles come out nicely that way. I ironed them once, just to see what they'd be like. They were nice, but after one sleep, they looked like they usually look, so no way I'm spending time ironing :) I just got the duvet, shams and bolsters last week (duvet and shams in indigo orkney and bolsters in white orkney).

Here's how the RL arrives:

And here it is on our bed:

They were nice, but after one sleep, they looked like they usually look, so no way I'm spending time ironing

Overheard in Palm Beach: One man giving advice to another, saying "You can't tell if a woman is worth wasting your time on until the first time you sleep with her at her house. If she doesn't have linen sheets that means she can't afford a maid to iron them, so skip it."

ETA I believe Jackie O used to have her maid change the sheets every time she even took a nap, so they were always freshly ironed.

Don't have a maid, but I can spell shallow.

I'm still not sure they're for me, but will probably try first on a guest room. Laure, your pics gave me a good visual " feel" for them. Thanks all for your replies.

they're not like linen clothing, which I always considered scratchy. Maybe because it was dry cleaned? Dunno, but the sheets are wonderful. I've been sleeping on linen sheets from RH and RL for several years. They definitely have a "texture" to them that isn't as smooth as regular cotton sheets. But I like that. Given that I sleep in the nude and have all my life (probably TMI) sheet texture is very important to me. The linen has just enough "tooth" to keep me from sliding around in them.

Linen has other benefits also -- more environmentally sound to produce than cotton, better cool/warm regulation, etc.

ETA: Iron them? Bwahahahaha!

LOL, lascatx.

Oooh, Debbi, you got the indigo! I had seen them on her website and wondered about getting a set. Those are beautiful. After just saying on another thread that I need to quit being acquisitive, could I please amend that to say that sheets don't count?

another LOL from me lascatx!

LOL Lascatx.

Marti, I love my RL sheets and will never go back. I honestly think my sheets will last a lifetime and then some. I have two flat sheets and a summer cover and two sets of pillow slips. One of the best things about linen is I no longer wake up with lines on my face from bunched fabric. I always iron my pillow slips (on an ironing board) and occasionally iron the sheets. I do this after I make my bed so the mattress is my ironing board. I don't have a problem with them unironed because as Cyn said you can pull them quite tight. The linen isn't rough but it's textural. I still smile each night when I slip into my heavenly bed!

As far as the tea towels go I now have eight of them and gifted each of my DDs with two for Christmas. I iron them because they look so crisp and pretty hanging and they dry dishes like nothing else. No lint left behind and the towels dry super quickly. When I was at DD's the other day helping with the twins she had her RL tea towel hanging, not ironed and it looked just lovely and homey.

I have been considering getting bolsters made in the beautiful St Bart's but I'm not sure that they would be all that useful. When I read in bed I use two pillows.

Ohhh, holly, no face wrinkles ? Gotta love that...uh, not that I need inside that.

:>). I have a few vintage linen bathroom towels....all ironed and just for pretty. Maybe I'll try sleeping on one

Holly-Kay, I thought about bolsters but DH said he doesn't want them. I was surprised he agreed to the shams -- or did I just order those? LOL He folds his pillow in half and they get so flat and pancaked. Kills me, but that's what he likes and isn't going to change. I use two pillows -- sometimes three.

Martinca, I bought the picafore first and played around with that before I ordered the bedding. Maybe trying a towel on your pillowcase is good idea. If you want to try it firther, drape on across your legs -- or under them and stretch out on the sofa.

The name never bothered me because I love linen and have been making clothes with it since the mid 1970s, and I always pre-shrank the linen first, which was something not available in stores in the 1970s. I've never had linen sheets, and so this thread convinced me that now it is time, especially since the Jennifer Lopez sheets I have now are worn out. Personally, I would not waste linen sheets on a guest room, but then I do not have guests more than once or twice a year, and I pamper them with meals instead of bedding.

I bought one top sheet (Queen size), one bottom sheet (Cal King size), and two king size pillow covers. I'll have to sleep on these for a while before I decide to order anything else or more.

I too started with a pinnafore and a bread bag. Then bought 2 king sheets and 2 pillow slips. Now I just got the duvet, 2 shams and 2 bolsters. I have to say I love the bolsters :)

How do you like the bread bag?

And Lars, I agree -- I would only use the sheets for the guest room if you tried them and they weren't your favorite or they WERE your favorite and you were gracious enough to share. But my guest room is like yours -- not used that often.

If you have a commitment issue, try ordering a single sheet. You could even get a twin Try it as the fitted sheet. Try it as the top sheet. Fold it over and treet it like a semi-sleeping bag. Worst case, you have a table cloth you know will stand up to any kind of use and laundering.

Lascatx, Tricia sent me a bread bag as a gift when something I ordered had a defect. It came with the replacement. I was surprised at how fresh it kept the bread, but I have to admit that I haven't used it regularly. I think I will pull it out of the drawer and use it again!

just a note about the bolsters -- they go behind your pillows for lumbar support and they make a huge difference in comfort as you are sitting in bed. No more slipping down .. .

That's why I use three pillows and would like the bolsters, but DH sits in bed a lot more than I do and I can't get him interested.

I will have to a bread bag.