It looks like linen to me

If it is linen and you press a fold in it with your fingers, it will keep the fold, much more than cotton will. If it will not keep a crease from a finger press, it is most likely not linen. Also, if it is linen and you put a drop of water on it, the water will be quickly absorbed and wick outwards. It will also absorb oil differently from water.

http://www.dharmatrading.com/home/the-fire-test.html

Set it on fire ... if the smoke is white or light colored and smells like burnt paper or leaves and if the ash is light gray or white and very soft, it WAS linen or maybe cotton.

Pull a thread out and burn it.

Gosh, I wouldn't pull a thread out, especially if it's old! You'll get a run that may keep running.

Hopsack maybe?

I agree, it certainly looks like linen. As Lars wrote, linen folds or 'wrinkles' quite easily. Just crunch a fistful in you hand and hold for 5 seconds. If it's quite wrinkled, it's very likely to be linen. If it doesn't wrinkle easily, it's probably 'duck' which is often a blend of cotton and linen, like canvas. But it looks like linen to me.

Could be linen, cotton or a blend. Just wash it in cold water and let in line dry (if you're worried about shrinkage).

Altho it is difficult to tell for sure from only a photo, it looks like it may be a polyester/linen blend, or a polyester/cotton blend, or even a polyester "linen" type fabric, since it is suspiciously non-wrinkled & seems to have some pilling.

Lars' suggestion is the best way I can think of, beyond a burn test, which may not be possible w/o damaging the tablecloth. Cotton fabrics will also hold a crease when finger-pressed, but tend to be a bit more lightweight, while linen has a heavier drape.

If you really want to do a burn test, you could pick out a tiny section of the hem & unravel several threads from there. Synthetics like polyester, tend to shrink from the flame & form a hard black ball, rather than a soft ash. Best to use a candle or a lighter, since matches can confuse the scent of the smoke.

Either way, if you like it, use & enjoy it.

Thanks for the helpful responses. I'm still a bit unsure about this, because I read that linen is not typically white and not dyed, other than just a stripe here or there (as it can't absorb dye readily).

If I scrunch it hard in my hand, it leaves wrinkles. My cotton cloth does too, but not quite as permanently. I did not want to do the burn test, as I want to keep this piece of textile intact. So I did the water test (see pics below). When I repeated dropping drops of water on a cotton cloth, the water tended to stay beaded up for longer, and didn't wick out quite as much, it appears.

For this reason, despite the dye job, I'm leaning toward "linen"!

WATER AT 1 SEC.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii100/The_Cappucino_Kid/1%20sec%2020160903_113309.jpg~original

WATER AT 5 SECONDS

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii100/The_Cappucino_Kid/5%20sec%2020160903_113316.jpg~original

WATER AT 15 SECONDS

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii100/The_Cappucino_Kid/15%20sec%2020160903_113330.jpg~original

I read that linen is not typically white and not dyed, other than just a stripe here or there (as it can't absorb dye readily).

Well perhaps there is something different about linen today, but in my childhood back in the middle ages or so, colored linen was common, both in clothes and linens. As a matter of fact I was just reading one of Frances Hodgson Burnett's adult books the other day and the heroine was very pleased at the good deals on colored linen fabrics for making summer dresses, pre-WW1.

I think that in addition to the possibilities mentioned so far, a ramie blend is also possible with that fabric, but if it's really from the mid-70s my money would be on poly or a poly blend. That was a horrible time when there were hardly any natural fabrics available.

I'm no expert, but it looks linen or linen blend. Whatever it is, it looks pretty and well-made. Enjoy!

I'm a drapery seamstress - we have dozens of sample books with linen in a rainbow of colors. Yours does appear to have a little pilling on it and the fact that water beaded up on it, makes me suspicious that is has some sort of finish. Either way - enjoy your tablecloth. I can easily see it with a pretty fall tablescape.

I can tell you from experience that 100% linen in the home dec world is rare. It's easier to work with when it's about half linen, half cotton. Usually, when pros talk about linen, they're mostly talking about a blend of some sort. Doesn't necessarily have to be that way, but that's what most fabric manufacturers are offering and us who work on the sewing side aren't complaining!

Just my two cents.

Well this is vintage fabric we're talking about. You can still get 100% linen at any rate.

I am sitting across the room from at least half a dozen pieces of linen -- white, natural, shades of blue, green and grey and a jaquard, a stripe and a textured weave. I just recently made my sister a kitchen towels in a half dozen colors, including a lemon yellow and a tangerine orange (to match her Fiestaware). I have a linen throw on the sofa next to me. Linen has a distinct hand and nothing wrinkles like linen. That would be my first test.

I suspect the time period with mustard golds in vintage years may have favored "modern" fibers like polyester and rayon. Poly doesn't usually wrinkle but rayon sure can. The pills on the fabric are more typical of poly or acrylic fibers. And one other things that makes me doubt it is linen are the tiny hems. Linen tends to have deeper hems. Linen ravels. It is also considered a luxury fabric (perhaps a reason that table linens tend to be found in classic natural and white or off-white rather than colors -- but you sure can get colors). When made into items, care is usually give to finely finish the seam or edges. The deeper hems also give more weight and a more luxurious feel to the finishing. Maybe it wasn't always treated that way, but I can't think of anything I have, old or new, that isn't treated that way.

If water beads on it, it either isn't pure linen or it has a finish on it Before posting this, I went and checked my thoughts. I have new, unlaundered linen and water beaded on it. You can also feel the finish on the fabric. I have some of the same fabric that has been laundered and water does not bead on it. Water didn't bead on my kitchen towel or my bed sheet (yeah, I'm becoming a linen junkie -- LOL). You could not see any beading, much less get a picture of it. Linen is very absorbent, but also dries quickly. Love it.

When you wash the tablecloth, you will get more clues as to how the fabric handles. If it requires ironing and wrinkles lengthwise along the hems, I'd lean more to linen. But I'm not betting on it. If you love it and it wasn't sold to you as linen at a premium price, then I wouldn't worry about it. Wash it cool or warm and gentle and use Oxyclean for stains, tumble dry low. Check it before drying it, but that care should be good for 90% of your options.

I feel so old. Anyway, it probably is linen, but, so what? Linen is nice but a pain to iron and no one cares anymore anyway (insert granite).

I have a bazillion linen things from grandmothers and they (the linen things) are interesting in a genteel way but not suitable for my way of life.

Linen is a top of the line natural fabric. Also very expensive. This tablecloth looks like vintage linen which often had nubs that resemble pilling. Linen is resistant to dye, but modern day dyes have been successful...years ago it was very common to dye linen with tea, several months ago I bought a vintage linen sheet that looked like your tablecloth same color even, I boiled it stove top, when it comes to used bedding I want no chances of cooties. The water looked like very strong tea and smelled like tea, but in an old way.

I'm wondering about yours though with the water beading up..real linen it should not do that and it also shouldn't have any chemicals on it causing the water to bead if it was a used table cover its probably been washed many times. its very hard though to know for sure from a picture. Also want to say most of my flax linen has tiny hems, but mine are vintage, maybe modern day linen has wider hems.

Your table cover has a timeless look to it. I would enjoy it regardless of the fabric.

I love linen, but fior upholstery or slip covers, a cotton/linen blend often wears better in a high usage situation. Linen, both for home furnishings and for garments, comes in a zillion colors today. Linen hangs beautifully when made into curtains and drapes well for blinds.

There is nothing lovelier than high quality white linen for tablecloths, placemats and napkins. When learns how, it is very easy to iron to a silky smooth crispness,. Ironing a huge cloth is nearly impossible at home, but there is a wonderful laundry in WI, that does a gorgeous job. I only use my huge linen damask cloth once a year - Christmas Eve - but it's worth the cost when I unroll it and set the table. I use fine linen placemats of antique lace ones for other occasions.

Mamapinky -- I have linens with an overcast or rolled narrower hem, but not a narrow folded hem, and not loose llike that one - especially onthe side where I'm not sure it was double folded and it doesn't appear to be a woven selvage either. Surely, things can vary, but the raveling of linen has to be controlled.

Thanks all for the very helpful and educational responses. A few comments in response to a few commenters:

Although I'm guessing it's from the 70's by the mustard yellow color, and I'm being told here that they rarely used natural materials in that period, I've ruled out things like polyester and rayon. Why, because they have a 'plasticky' sort of feel. When I handle this textile it feels like -cloth-. Specifically like thin (but still somewhat stiff) canvas cloth. It even has the -sound- of natural cloth, when you rub it.

I don't know if I'd say it beads up on the water test, as that lasts but a second or two, and then it spreads out farther and flatter than water does on pure cotton. I haven't ruled out a linen/cotton or possibly linen/poly blend, as someone suggested.

I bought another vintage tablecloth, a flower print that I'm sure was circa 70s. It's very similar to this, in that it is similarly very thin, feels like natural cloth, and I observe, the border is finished (folded over) on only two sides, not four. Like this mustard gold one. Except the flower print sample is definitely 100% cotton (identified as such on the tag), and the two simply don't have the same feel. Nor the same look, as on close up inspection of the weave, the cotton cloth weave looks like evenly shaped squares, while this one looks like differently-sized hatched lines. So I know what it's not!

Either way, I do quite like this tablecloth, regardless of what its made of. I've bought a number of vintage tablecloths at the thrift store, and its one of my faves. It costs $4, no tax, and looks great in my 70s kitchen on my teak Danish dining table. Winning! :)

Full Monty:

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii100/The_Cappucino_Kid/20160904_001439.jpg

While I'm not prepared to say "mystery solved!", I did see a mustard gold tablecloth for sale on Etsy that looks *very* similar to my mystery cloth. Not just same cross-hatch pattern in the weave, but the way it is hanging and the number and type of wrinkles it has (and the way those wrinkles are semi-permanent) makes me think they're from the same family. The ad suggests it is linen. The border's finished a bit different, as mine is borderless on the sides. Also, I washed the tablecloth today on the advice of one member. Indeed, it was full of wrinkles coming out of the wash. They can be steam ironed away (on high), but boy, it's a bit of a chore! It just wrinkles very easily.

ETSY:

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/270595858/mustard-linen-tablecloth-rustic-bright?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=tablecloth%20mustard&ref=sr_gallery_5