Sin In Linen: Review

I GOT SNAZZY THINGS!

Look at this lovely pile of goodies I got sent! Forgot to include the tea-towel in this photo (oops).

::Sin In Linen:: are an online shop selling fabric home-ware products for the alternative market, and a while back their founder, Sandy Glaze contacted me via e-mail (best way of contacting me about Domesticated Goth related things!) about sending me a few things to review. After I saw they had Gothic kitchen items, especially oven-gloves, I readily agreed. I've previously bought a few Vigar funky cleaning and kitchen bits, but there's a very limited range of these sort of things in mainstream shops, and I just didn't think that there'd be anyone supplying this stuff specifically to the alternative demographic. I thought my flocked apron and spiderweb toilet paper were a sign that I was applying the Gothic aesthetic to more aspects of my life than many of us do (and possibly a bit more than I ought to!).

I only asked for a spider-web patterned oven-glove & pot-holder set, and they sent me not only that, but two tea-towels and vintage-tattoos patterned oven-glove & pot holder set! I always approve of extra free stuff.

I also asked them a bit about their business, and I've found out that it's run by an alternative lady looking to fill a niche that she noticed when looking for things for her own home. There's a short but informative ::article about her:: over at ::Women You Should Know:: 

The oven-gloves are mitten style, and are comfortable, fit even over my large paws (I'm a tall lady with long fingers) and Raven's talons - sometimes oven-gloves can be a bit small and seem designed for more petite people, seemingly ignoring that larger ladies and men also like to cook - no such problems here, though. The insulation is a bit on the thin side, and I felt my fingers getting warm pretty rapidly, but I decided to hold on to a hot baking tray (fresh out of an oven at 180°C) for 20 seconds to test this, and I didn't feel it get any hotter than warm. I've used it quite a bit since that first use, and on no occasion have my fingers been particularly hot. I haven't put a thermometer in them to figure out exactly how warm "warm" is, but I am pretty temperature sensitive, and it wasn't enough to bother me.  On the positive side, the thinner insulation makes it easier to actually take hold of things like ceramic dishes. Having two (even if they're unmatched) makes it easier to handle heavy and large things (like a roast chicken) - one thing I would suggest to Sin In Linen is the option to order matched pairs or connected oven mitts.

I like the print placement on the pot-holder.

The black looks actually black on the spider-web pattern, and I am always a fan of stereotypically Gothic things like the spiderweb print. I also really like the skull-and-crossbones print they offer. You can get the spiderweb oven-mitts ::here::. The practical aspects apply to both patterned mitts as the construction and fabric (rather than print) seem to be the same on both. I washed them with my regular black wash at approximately 40°C (older washing machines rarely stay at exactly the temperature of the setting) and there was no fade of colour.

[EDIT 29th Aug. '14: I have washed them a couple of times again since I wrote this and I've noticed that spiderweb print has started to fade and that the rolled hem of the edging on the pot-holder has started to come loose.] 

The two dish-towels I was sent were a vintage tattoo patterned one and and the 'Henna Tattoo' pattern one. You can get the 'Henna Tattoo' ones ::here:: and the vintage tattoo pattern one ::here::. They sell  dish towels by Sourpuss clothing with pictures done in the style of vintage tattoos too - I like ::this:: curvaceous tattooed mermaid!

This is after being washed and ironed; browns are all still rich and vivid!

I like the design of the 'Henna Tattoo' patterned one - it's a dark brown ink-and-wash design that is inspired by boteh ('Paisley' designs) and Mandalas and the colours of Henna art, and it is very pretty -  I have always enjoyed organic, foliate swirling designs - but the advertising blurb on the website seems to be overly exoticising various aspects of Asian culture and not properly referencing the inspiring cultures; Mandalas are from India, Tibet, and other Hindu and Buddhist groups in Central Asia, and Henna for body-paint in Mehndi designs is used in cultures from Sudan to Nepal.

I'm really happy with the actual dish-towels though! Sin In Linen have used nice fabric that almost seems too good in quality for use making dish-towels, although Raven found it a tad thin (probably because he tried to use it to hold hot things, rather than using the lovely oven mitts we were sent!). It's surprisingly good at wiping moisture off things for something that does not look readily absorbent. I am hoping that the patterns are colourfast in the long term as both patterns are very richly printed. I've washed them a couple of times with no apparent fading. I also like how they have a little loop attached to them to hang them up if you're the sort of person that has little hooks for their kitchen linen. 

Tattoo print. I like the mermaids best :) 

The tattoo print on both the tea-towel and the oven mitt is vibrant, clear and colourful. Raven likes red as kitchen colour, so the red trim around the fabric fits in well with out red kitchen items. I have not washed the tattoo print items, so I am not sure about how colour-fast they are yet. Unlike the spider-web design, the tattoo designs are not quilted. You can get the mitt set ::here:: and the towel from ::here::. There's a whole set available, with matching apron from ::here::, too. 

Many thanks to Sin In Linen for sending me free stuff. I hope people found this review detailed and interesting. If anyone has any further questions, please feel free to ask me in the comments.