Thanksgiving Table Linens, the DeHoney’s Way: Linen, Lace, and Cloths Worth Keeping

Some tablecloths are bought. The best ones are inherited — linen and lace that have covered Thanksgiving tables for generations. Caring for them properly is a job for a Tulsa Dry Cleaner that understands the difference, and DeHoney’s, cleaning Tulsa’s finest since 1921, has handled heirloom table linens for many of the same families, year after year.

The work begins after the meal, not before the next one. Gravy, butter, red wine, coffee, and candle wax all set with time: a cloth folded away after Thanksgiving and rediscovered the following November carries a year of set stains, and some of what was liftable in December is permanent by then. Send table linens out in the week after the holiday, and point out the wax and wine when you do — both need specific treatment, and both respond far better early.

Heirloom pieces are inspected before cleaning: the age of the linen, the state of handmade lace, any existing weakness at fold lines. Fold lines deserve respect in storage, too. Store cloths clean and completely dry, folded loosely, and refold them along different lines once or twice a year so a crease does not become a worn, weakened line through the fabric. Keep them in a cool, dry place inside the house, away from dark wood and acidic materials that yellow fine linen over time.

Done this way, a tablecloth is not merely stored — it is kept in service, ready to be the background of another generation of photographs.

DeHoney’s Dry Cleaners, 1427 S Harvard Ave, Tulsa, OK 74112 — Monday to Friday 7 AM–6 PM, closed Saturday and Sunday. Call (918) 744-1166. Free pickup and delivery is available twice a week in Owasso, Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Jenks, and Bixby — sign up at https://waterstonecleaners.smrtapp.com/custx/