Can you steam linen? Yes, and for many garments it is the gentlest way to bring them back from a suitcase. Linen responds readily to moisture and heat, a steamer supplies both without any pressure on the cloth, and the result is a shirt that hangs cleanly and feels soft. What steam will not give is the flat, crisp finish of a pressed shirt. That requires an iron. Understanding why the two tools produce different results makes it easy to choose between them, and the reason lies in the fibre itself.

Linen is made of cellulose, laid down by the flax plant in long, highly ordered chains. Those chains are held to one another by weak bonds that break and reform in the presence of water. When dry linen is folded or sat on, the bonds reset in the new position, and the crease stays. This is why linen creases more readily than most cloths and why it has so little natural spring. It is also why the cure is simple. Introduce moisture and warmth, and the bonds release; let the cloth dry in the shape you want, and they set again there. The Journal's piece on whether linen wrinkles explains the same mechanism from the other side.

A steamer works with gravity alone. The garment hangs, the steam loosens the fibre, and the weight of the cloth draws the creases out as it dries. The finish is relaxed: the surface is smooth but not flat, the seams are soft, the collar rolls a little. For a shirt worn open at the neck, for the Amelia linen dress shirt, for a PP linen blouse or a pair of linen trousers on holiday, that is exactly the look most people are after. An iron adds the element steam lacks, which is pressure. Heat, moisture and weight together flatten the yarns against one another and give the sharp placket, the firm collar and the clean cuff that a formal evening asks for.

The method matters more than the machine. Hang the garment on a proper hanger with the top button fastened so the placket lies straight. Work from the top downwards. Hold the hem lightly with the free hand to put the cloth under gentle tension, and keep the head of the steamer a few centimetres from the surface, moving steadily. Steam the inside of the garment as well as the outside where the cloth is double, at the yoke and the placket. Linen can take a generous amount of steam without harm; what it does not need is to be soaked.

Then leave it alone. This is the step most often missed. Linen that is put on, or packed, while still damp from steaming will crease again at once, and more deeply than before, because the fibre sets in whatever position it dries. Give the garment ten or fifteen minutes on the hanger in moving air until it is fully dry to the touch. A shirt steamed just before leaving the room will have lost most of the benefit by the time the lift arrives.

Two cautions apply to pale and dark linen respectively. Steamers filled with hard tap water can spit droplets that leave a faint mineral mark on a white or Oyster shirt; clean or filtered water avoids it, and any mark that does appear usually washes out. Dark linen has the opposite sensitivity, and it concerns the iron, not the steamer. Pressing a Dark Blue or Navy cloth on its face with a hot plate can leave a shine. Steam removes that risk altogether, which is one reason it suits darker colourways well. If an iron is used on them, it should be from the reverse.

Buttons deserve a thought. The men's shirts in the PP collection close with seashell buttons, the Monte-Carlo Male and the men's shorts and trousers with walnut. Both are natural materials and neither enjoys the direct plate of a very hot iron. Steam passes over them harmlessly. When ironing, work around the buttons from the reverse of the placket. It is a small habit and it keeps a natural button looking as it did when the garment was made.

Travel is where a steamer earns its place. A small handheld model weighs little and deals with a shirt in a couple of minutes. Without one, the old method still helps: hang the garment in the bathroom while the shower runs hot, then move it to the bedroom to dry. The effect is milder, but it softens the hard fold lines left by a suitcase. The surest approach is to reduce creasing before it starts, and the Journal's linen shirt packing guide sets out how to fold and roll for that purpose.

The whole routine for a PP garment is short. Wash at 30°C on a gentle cycle, reshape while damp and dry flat or on a hanger in the air. For a soft finish, steam. For a crisp one, iron on the linen setting while the cloth is still slightly damp. The garments, including the shirts in the men's linen shirt collection and the pieces in the women's linen collection, are handmade and intended to be looked after for years. Linen that is steamed, worn, washed and steamed again grows softer each time. The steamer is simply the quickest route back to the hanger.

How to Iron Linen  ·  The Linen Shirt Care Guide  ·  How to Pack Linen Shirts for Travel