Interesting Facts About Linen

Beneficial: in the language of flowers, flax means "benefactor" It is healthy and beneficial for the skin: thermo-regulating (insulating in winter, breathable in summer), non-allergenic and anti-bacterial….

Binding: way of crossing weft and warp. Most current weaves for linen: "linen binding" (same yarn in weft and warp), herringbone, twill, jacquard, satin, velvet.

Cambric: A precious, very fine and tightly woven linen fabric, named after a famous master-weaver (around 1275) Jean-Baptiste de Cambrai (France)..used for handkerchiefs, christening robes etc

Civilisation: Linen is the oldest textile plant cultivated in Europe and is so much part of our history that it is referred to as the " fibre of civilisation " (e.g. : Penelope's weave, The " Bayeux tapisserie", Venice chantilly or Bruges lace, …)

Combing: Further to scutching, the fibres are parallelised and strectched into ribbons ready to be spun.
Crinoline: a fabric petticoat made from horsehair and linen, stiffened by a framework of steel hoops (18th - 19th century).

Dyeing affinity: the capacity of a fabric to take a dye, an area in which linen excels, because it is a hollow fibre, which absorbs colour and reflects light.

Ecological: flax needs 5 times less fertilisers and pesticides than cotton to grow, and, as for the best wines, needs no irrigation. It's processing into fibre (see retting and scutching) respects the environment, as it is purely mechanical (using neither solvents nor water) in opposition to man made fibres such as viscose, bamboo or maize.

Fibres: 3 classified categories
Man made fibres: produced from natural resources Viscose, lyocell, modal, and more recently bamboo and maize are produced from polymers extracted from wood cellulose. A major drawback is that their transformation needs a huge amount of water and solvents.
Natural fibres: Either vegetal fibres (cotton, linen, hemp) or animal fibre (wool, cashmere, silk) undergoing no substantial transformation.
Synthetic fibres: produced from petrochemicals (including polyester, nylon, acrylic, elastane).

Flax: relates to the plant and the fibres (flax plant, flax seeds, flax yarns).

Jacquard: Named after the inventor, the Jaquard Loom is used for weaving fabrics with patterns, such as the famous tone on tone damask.

Lawn: Delicate, transparent and lightweight linen fabric used for shirts, lingerie etc.µ

Linen union: fabric produced with a warp in cotton and weft in linen.

Linen: applies to the products made from flax (linen fabrics, linen sheets, linen clothing..).

Linum usitatissimum: botanic name of linen meaning 'Extremely useful'. Flax supplies, in addition to textile end uses, a number of by-products: flax oil (soaps, cosmetics, paints, printing inks etc.) fibres (paper and the American $ contain flax fibres) ... Nothing is wasted !

Mechanisation: In 1810, Philippe de Girard invents the first "mechanical spinning loom" and launches the industrialisation of linen. He will finally settle down in Poland, where a city was called after him Zyrardow, still a major textile centre.

Metric counts: metric figures measuring the yarn by the weight, indicating the fineness of the linen yarn. As an example, for upholstery fabrics, Nm 6 (6 000 m a kilo), and for light fabrics for apparel, Nm 39 (39.000 m a kilo).

Omega 3: a recent discovery, Omega 3 fatty acids protect against cardio-vascular disease. Flax seeds have long been sprinkled on breakfast cereal, salads etc. to improve taste, whilst promoting health at the same time!

Painting Canvas: From paintings by old masters to contemporary works of art, the most beautiful canvases are made of linen.

Resistance: linen is one of the strongest natural fibre fabrics. It lasts a long time without losing its shape or pilling, it even becomes softer and the drape is improved after a number of washings.

Retting: between pulling and harvesting, flax is left in the field so that the fibre separates from the cellulose particles via a natural process of hydrolysing the pectins. Water retting - in lukewarm water tanks - has been abandoned in the European Union for environmental reasons, during the 80's.

Saint Linus: Celebrated on the 23rd September, he was the second Christian pope after Saint Peter. The Italian version, Lino, is a popular name in Italy.

Scutching: Operation consisting of extracting fibre from ligneous material (straw) via the mechanical action of a turbine.

Shive: waste fragments of the flax stalks after scutching, notably used in insulation boards.

Sleep: It has been scientifically proven that linen sheets help people get to sleep faster and result in a deeper and more refreshing night's sleep.

Sliver: line of combed flax fibre.

Swath: lines of parallel flax stems, pulled during the harvest and aligned on the ground.

Tow: shorter fibres obtained after combing or scutching the flax. Their technical end uses include: technical fabrics, composites, ropes and special papers.

Velvet: double weave bound by vertical yarns cut at the exit of the loom. linen velvet has always been a favourite for upholstery thanks to its strength, and for draperies thanks to its handle.

Thanks to Master of Linen

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