It’s used to make clothing, curtains,tablecloths, pillows, rugs, rope, and more.
Linen is known for its breathability, durability, and versatility although it is prone to wrinkling and stiffness.
Linen is often blended with cotton (another natural plant fiber) to give it softness and loosen creases.
The Spruce / Meg MacDonald
What Is Linen?
Linen is a lightweight, sustainable fabric made from flax fibers.
Flax comes from a flowering annual plant,Linum usitatissimum, growing about 3 to 4 feet tall.
The Spruce / Meg MacDonald
The tall varieties make fabric; the seeds make linseed oil and flax milk.
The taller the flax plant, the longer the fiber.
It is the world’s strongest natural fiber, far more durable than cotton.
The Spruce / Meg MacDonald
Cotton is a natural fiber derived from the fibers in the cotton plant’s fruit capsules, or bolls.
Linen is made from fibers extracted from the stems of the flax plant.
But it is also more expensive and less elastic, so it wrinkles more than cotton.
Linen’s antibacterial and antifungal properties have made it an important textile for use on battlefields throughout history.
How Is Linen Fabric Made?
Modern-day linen is still made much like it was made in ancient Egypt.
The plants are cut or pulled by hand from the ground (pulling may create finer linen).
The flax is dried for several weeks.
Next comes threshing (winnowing or ripping) or removing the seeds.
In some cases, flax is harvested before the seeds are ready to make a stronger fiber.
The fibers are then spun into yarn and woven into fabric.
Remember that once you wear your linen garment, it’s bound to get a little wrinkly.
To avoid most wrinkles, opt for linen blend fabrics.
What Is Starch?
Laundry starch is a spray typically made from water and cornstarch.
This fabric softens as you wear it over time.
If you want thefabric to remain crispand sturdy, dry clean your linen clothing.
Be careful whenremoving stains from linensince some dyed linen may not be colorfast.
Test an inconspicuous spot for colorfastness.
Organic linen is the priciest.
Pure linen is better than pure cotton regarding durability and breathability, but cotton is softer and less wrinkly.
A linen-cotton blend is best for durability, softness, and fewer wrinkles.
Oldest known fibers to be used by humans discovered.
Flax Crop Profile.University of Wisconsin-Madison.
