Take It Out While It Is Still Damp
Stiffness, extra shrinkage and creases pressed in so deep that no iron takes them out: a surprising amount of it happens at the end of the cycle, once the cloth is already almost dry.
Fabric softener, chlorine bleach and the reason both are wrong for linen are in The First Two Minutes, together with what to do about wine, oil and coffee.
What pre-washed, stone-washed and enzyme-washed actually mean, and how much shrinkage is left after each, are in Pre-Washed, Stone-Washed, Enzyme-Washed.
Why the napkins are in the wash that often in the first place is in The Napkin You Use on a Tuesday.
This piece is about the part nobody writes down: what happens after the wash.
The One Rule
Take the napkins out while they are still slightly damp.
That is the whole thing. Over-drying is what makes linen stiff, what tightens the fibers into shrinkage, and what sets creases hard enough that they survive a hot iron. A cloth taken out while it still feels slightly damp, and left to finish in the air, keeps the hand it had when you bought it.
For napkins, which are small and light, this happens faster than people expect. Ten to fifteen minutes on low is a good place to start, though it depends on the machine and the load: check them early rather than waiting for the cycle to finish.
The last ten minutes in the dryer are the ones that do the damage.
The Settings
Low heat or delicate, with the drum below about 120°F / 50°C. Linen is strong but heat-sensitive: moisture plus high temperature makes the fiber contract, which is shrinkage, and leaves the cloth feeling rougher than it went in.
Do not fill the drum. Napkins need room to move for the tumbling to do anything useful, and a packed dryer produces damp patches, uneven drying and deep-set wrinkles.
And always defer to the care label on the piece itself, particularly where there is embroidery, since a dense stitched area behaves differently from the cloth around it.
The Hybrid Method
The approach that works best for napkins takes the useful part of the dryer and stops there.
Ten to fifteen minutes on low, then out and hung or laid flat to finish. The tumbling relaxes the fibers and knocks out the worst of the creasing, which is the thing air-drying alone does not do, and the air finishes the job without the heat that causes the damage.
It works in reverse as well. If linen dried on a line has come out stiffer than you wanted, a short tumble on low afterwards will soften it again.
Why air-dried linen feels stiffer
Because nothing is moving while it dries. In a drum the fibers are flexed and separated continuously; on a line they set in place as the water leaves. This is why line-dried linen taken down slightly damp, smoothed by hand and folded feels quite different from linen left out until it is board-dry.
Dryer Sheets
This one is worth its own section because it is nearly universal in American homes and almost nobody connects it to how their napkins feel.
Dryer sheets work by releasing a conditioning agent onto the fabric in the heat of the drum. That agent stays there. It reduces static and adds fragrance, and it also leaves a fine waxy residue on the fiber that builds up over repeated cycles.
On a towel or a napkin, whose entire function is to absorb, this is the wrong thing to add. The cloth feels pleasant and works less well, and because the change is gradual it usually gets blamed on the linen rather than on the sheets.
The same logic applies to liquid fabric softener, for the same reason.
Wool dryer balls do the mechanical part of the job, separating the load and softening by movement, without depositing anything on the fiber. They also shorten the cycle, which matters here more than usual.
Linen does not need help softening. It does that on its own, with every wash, for years.
Then, Or Not
Once the napkins are out, smooth them flat with your hands while they are still damp. That alone removes most of what an iron would have been for, and it is also the point at which folding soft linen napkins either works or does not.
If you want them pressed, iron while they are still slightly damp, on the reverse, at medium heat, keeping the plate off any embroidery. Linen that has dried completely will resist being pressed; if that has happened, mist it and give it a few minutes.
And if you do not want them pressed, that is a legitimate choice rather than a shortcut. A washed linen napkin is going to be crumpled in someone's lap within thirty seconds of the meal starting, which is the argument made at more length in Two Napkins, Two Finishes.
Can linen napkins go in the dryer?
Yes, on low heat or a delicate cycle, and for a short time. Ten to fifteen minutes is a reasonable starting point for napkins, depending on the machine and the load. The important part is taking them out while they are still slightly damp and letting them finish in the air, since over-drying is what causes stiffness, shrinkage and set-in creases.
Does linen shrink in the dryer?
It can, when exposed to high heat or left in until completely dry, because the fiber contracts. Low heat, a short cycle and removing the napkins slightly damp keep it to a minimum. Pre-washed linen has already done most of its shrinking before it was cut, so there is less left to lose.
Are dryer sheets safe for linen?
They are not recommended. Dryer sheets release a conditioning agent that leaves a fine residue on the fiber, and that residue reduces absorbency over repeated cycles. On a napkin, whose job is to absorb, it works against the material. Wool dryer balls give the same mechanical softening without leaving anything behind.
Why does air-dried linen feel stiff?
Because the fibers set in place as the water leaves, with nothing flexing them. Taking the linen down while still slightly damp and smoothing it by hand helps, and a short tumble on low afterwards will relax it if it has already gone stiff.
How do you get the packaging fold out of new linen napkins?
Wash them first, then press while they are still damp, on the reverse. A napkin cannot be shipped flat at any normal size, so the fold is unavoidable. What makes it stubborn is pressing it dry: linen that has dried completely will not take an iron, and the plate moves the cloth around rather than the crease. If the piece has already dried, mist it and leave it a few minutes before pressing.
Do linen napkins need ironing?
Not necessarily. Smoothing them by hand while damp does most of the work. If you want them pressed, iron while slightly damp, on the reverse, at medium heat, keeping the plate away from any embroidery.
It softens on its own. It only needs to be left alone.