Kitchen & Table Linens
Buy and sell kitchen and table linens in Costa Rica.
A Boruca runner woven on a backstrap loom can only be as wide as the weaver’s body, which is why it runs down the middle of the table instead of covering it. Handwoven pieces like that are listed here new and pre-owned, next to the printed tablecloth that goes on every day and the limpiones that dry the plates after the meal. Tablecloths are bought by size, so ask the seller for the measurements and a photo of the cloth fully unfolded before you arrange to collect it.
Tablecloths by fabric, from plastic to linen:
the fabric decides how a cloth behaves after the first spill. Polyester is the everyday choice: it comes out of the wash without creases and keeps its print, but it holds on to grease, so a mark from fried plantains tends to stay. Pure cotton absorbs, softens and takes a hot wash, though it shrinks and creases. Linen is the top of the range, heavy, cool and better with every wash, and wrinkled whenever nobody has ironed it. For the patio or a table where children eat, a plastic tablecloth wipes clean, and anti-stain fabric, treated so liquids bead on the surface, is the compromise until the finish washes out.
Measuring the table before choosing a tablecloth:
take the length and width, or the diameter of a round table, and add a drop on every side: about a hand’s width for daily use, longer for a formal dinner. A rectangular cloth on an oval table hangs in points at the ends, and a round one on a square table leaves the corners bare. Placemats suit a good wooden table you would rather show, and they are usually picked to go with the plates under dinnerware.
Boruca runners and placemats from the backstrap loom:
Boruca weavers near Buenos Aires de Puntarenas grow and hand-spin their own cotton, dye it with leaves, seeds, bark and sea snail, and weave on a loom tied at the waist. That loom limits the width, so the craft becomes runners, placemats and bags rather than full tablecloths. Natural dyes want a cold hand wash and drying in the shade; a piece that has been through a hot machine wash shows it in faded, uneven colour.
Limpiones, tomaollas and aprons:
a cotton limpión stops leaving lint on glasses after a few washes, and a microfibre one absorbs more until fabric softener coats it. Tomaollas and oven mitts are judged by the padding left: one that is scorched or worn thin at the palm lets the heat of a handle straight through, and silicone copes better with a hot oven tray. The pans they are for sit under pots and pans. On an apron, the straps and pocket seams tear first.
An everyday printed tablecloth against a linen set:
a printed polyester or poly-cotton tablecloth for a six-seat table costs around ₡10,000 to ₡15,000 new, and limpiones are so cheap that nobody lists them one at a time. That keeps used everyday linens cheap: a single printed cloth goes for little, or in a bundle with its napkins. The value is in linen, handwoven runners and complete sets of tablecloth with matching napkins, which cost far more to replace and outlast years of washing.
Mildew, fold lines and yellowing in a stored tablecloth:
a cloth that spends the rainy season folded in a closet in Limón or San Carlos can come out with grey or black mildew specks and a musty smell. On cotton and linen they are hard to shift and chlorine bleach weakens linen fibres. Unfold the cloth completely in daylight before agreeing a price. Yellowing along the folds comes from food residue that was invisible when the cloth was put away unwashed, and on linen a crease kept in the same place for years can wear the fibres thin enough to split. Hold it to a window to find thin patches, and check the hem and corners.
A tablecloth for sale needs its measurements:
give the size of the cloth and of the table it fitted, the fabric from the label and how many napkins come with it. Photograph it spread across a table so the size reads, then the label and any mark up close, after washing and drying it fully. If a Boruca runner came straight from the weaver, say so. When a buyer comes to collect, leave the tablecloth folded on top of the pile so they can open it out in good light and follow the old fold lines with their own eyes.