How to wash linen so it keeps its shape

Thirty degrees, a gentle cycle, and a full drum is worse than a half-empty one — linen needs room to move or it creases into itself.

Skip the fabric softener. It coats the fibre, and a coated flax fibre stops breathing, which is the entire reason you bought linen.

The part everybody gets wrong is drying. A tumble dryer on any heat will take the shape out of a linen shirt permanently, and no amount of pressing puts it back. Hang it damp, on a hanger, and let the weight of the water pull the creases out. It will be dry in a few hours and will need almost no iron.

If you must press it, press it while it is still slightly damp, on the reverse.