ElreneHome Fashions Villeroy & Boch La Classica Linen Tablecloth, Great for Formal Dining or Everyday Use, 70 Inches by 96 Inches, White

Pretty, but not a crisp white as I’d expected. Next to my white China it looked cream coloured. Will be perfect with my everyday dishes though. Also a lot of work to iron out the creases...but that is linen. Overall I like it and it’s pretty and simple and classic.

It is quite sheer. My table is light wood and it still shows through. Having said that, it looks rather ugly on its own but once the table was set up, it looked quite wonderful and the sheerness looked quite nice. It is not something I would leave on my table unless the whole table is fully set. I suppose being of thinner material meant that it dried fairly quickly. My guests had spilt drops of red wine on it over the course of dinner. By the time dinner was over, it was a good 4 hours later. It was put in the wash (cold) and left overnight as everyone went to bed. The wine stains were still visible the next morning so I rubbed stain remover on it and threw it in for a second cold wash. It came out stain free the second time round. I think it would have been fine in the first wash if the hubby had thought to apply stain remover on it. So stains are removed fairly easily I’d say. But it is sheer so for that it loses a star.

CONS:1) Linen must be ironed to look like the product photos after washing. The wrinkled look does not go with the refined styling of this tablecloth.2) Stains are not easy to get out. If you choose any light colored linen you may have to replace your tablecloth frequently or live with remnants of stains (tomato sauce, anyone?).3) Lint balls are intrinsic to linen fabric. By "lint balls" I mean areas where fibers have gathered and does not look as smooth as surrounding areas. I use a lint brush to tame these balls.4) The color Dove Gray is not gray at all. It's an off white or almond color.PROS:1) Villeroy & Boch is a quality brand and this is top quality linen. The hemmed edges are lovely.If you're okay with the cons then consider this purchase. If you need a lower maintenance tablecloth don't buy linen.In the end I repurposed this tablecloth into an extra bedsheet! It's especially useful in hot summer weather, like now. The dimensions are similar to a twin top sheet, or ideal for one person. Since I didn't like the Dove Gray color I dyed a pattern into the fabric using the "shibori" dye method (a kind of Japanese tie dye). I absolutely love my bedsheet now, but did not find this useful as tablecloth.

Natural linen at its best.

I was looking for a nice, heavyweight linen tablecloth for my dining room table. This tablecloth is not heavy linen -- it is see-through. The fabric is thinner than all my linen napkins and even my linen blouses. The finish details are nice. It wrinkles quite a bit when washed -- but that is no surprise as it is linen, and that is what linen does.I will use it, but will need to have a white tablecloth as a "slip" underneath it.