A Comprehensive Read On What Is Linen?
Linen is made from a plant called flax. Famous for its strength and durability, it is known as a versatile fabric. It is highly absorbent, and the oldest natural fabric. Linen is one of the most stylish and charming fabrics you can buy and is commonly viewed as a lavish fabric. If you are asking “what is linen”, then let’s go ahead and discuss every aspect of it.
History
Neolithic Europeans were making linen textiles as far back as 36,000 years ago, making linen one of the longest-produced textiles. Thus, its history may stretch back even further than what modern archaeology has uncovered. The next piece of historical evidence of linen use comes from dwellings built on Switzerland’s 10,000-year-old lakefronts. According to archaeologists, linen was first domesticated in ancient Mesopotamia. The use of linen for garments in Mesopotamia was reserved for the ruling class as the process of extracting linen from flax was too cumbersome. Meanwhile, the use of linen in Ancient Egypt was much more widespread as due to the Egyptian climate, it was necessary to devise a fabric that could resist the sun’s rays and allow for rapid sweat cooling. Linen being naturally white, made it an obvious choice, and its breathability and lack of moisture retention caused it to become the most popular Egyptian fabric. So much so that ancient Egyptians started trading it as a type of currency and were even using it to make the burial shrouds and wrappings for mummies.
The ancient Greeks made garments and homewares out of it, while the Phoenicians later introduced linen production to Western Europe. Despite this, historical records suggest that there was no effort expended by European powers to regulate flax production until the 12th century AD. In Lithuanian folklore and mythology, numerous songs and tales mention blue flax fields, and it is still part of the tradition to pass linen items down as a family heirloom. By the 18th century, it was Ireland that became the center of European linen production with the town of Belfast being known as “Linenopolis” because of its thriving line trade. Linen remained a popular choice throughout the colonial era, but as producing cotton became more efficient, the central role that linen held within Europe’s textile economy faded into history.
Linen Today
In its 10,000-year history, the production of linen has changed quite a bit. All the processes that used to be done by hand are now more or less automated. What else is that linen — once exclusive to royalty — can now be found in hotels, restaurants, and many homes especially across Europe where linen growing traditions date back centuries.
Nature and Texture
Linen fabrics have a refreshed natural shine. It has a wide color range of shades like Ivory, tan, light grey. However, white is the most popular choice, signifying luxury royalty. It is a naturally occurring fully biodegradable fabric. It is also moth resistant and suitable for people suffering from allergies. Quality linen is known to mollify after some time without losing any of its tough properties. Linen cloth is also superior in responding to seasons considering dampness dissemination. As cotton blurs and degrades following 2–3 years of use, linen sheets sparkle and stay around for a couple of decades if taken care of appropriately.
Types of Linen
While all types of linen fabric are derived from processed and spun flax fiber, there are four main variations in weaving techniques that result in different types of linen fabric:
1. Damask linen
Ornate and delicate, it is formed on a jacquard loom to produce an end product similar to embroidery as it is used for decorative items. Not for everyday use.
2. Plain-woven linen
Used to make dish towels, cotton towels, and hand towels. Even though it is relatively loosely-woven, it doesn’t suffer from a significant decrease in durability.
3. Loosely-woven linen
Highly absorbent, but the least-durable type. Used to make reusable diapers and sanitary napkins.
4. Sheeting linen
Apparel is usually made from this type due to its untextured, soft surface and close weave. It has a higher thread count than the other forms.
Production and Cost
The constituent material is the cellulose fiber found in the stems of linen plants. They consist of a woody, reedy interior section and a fibrous, stringy exterior section. The process of producing linen consists of:
1. Planting
Flax plants are ready for harvesting after about 100 days of growth. Since flax plants are not heat resistant, they need to be planted in the cooler part of the year to avoid crop death. Flax plants need deep rich soil.
2. Growth
Nowadays, flax seeds are usually sown with machines. As flax plants don’t prevent the incursion of weeds, herbicides and tilling are required to prevent reduced yields.
3. Harvesting
Once flax stems are yellow and their seeds are brown, they are ready to be harvested. If you see only seed balls instead of flowers, it is a good time. While flax can be harvested by hand, machines are usually used for this. Choose a dry day for harvesting and be wary of rains.
4. Fiber Separation
After harvesting, they are processed through a machine that removes leaves and seeds. This is called rippling. Then, manufacturers separate flax’s fibrous outer stalk from its soft, woody interior. This process is called retting, and unless done expertly, the delicate flax fibers used for textile production could be damaged. There are two ways to do so and they are natural and chemical.
5. Scutching
Next, the decomposed stalks are broken up, separating the unusable outer fibers of flax stalks from their usable inner fibers. For this, the flax stalks are sent through rollers and crushed while rotating paddles remove the outer fibers from the stalks.
6. Heckling
Now that the inner fibers are separated from the other fibers, they can be combed into thin strands. Once combed, they will be ready for spinning.
7. Spinning
This process required a foot-powered flax wheel, but these days industrial machines are used for this process. These short, combed fibers are connected to devices called spreaders, and the resulting strings, called rovings, are then ready to be spun.
8. Reeling
The resulting yarn from spinning is then reeled onto a bobbin. It’s necessary to perform this reeling process in wet, humid conditions, and the spun yarn is run through a hot water bath to further ensure cohesion so that it doesn’t fall apart.
9. Drying
Finally, the finished yarn is dried and reeled onto bobbins. It is then ready to be dyed, treated, and made into apparel, homewares and other textile products.
China is currently the largest producer of linen. However, The finest linen comes from Belgium, where an optimal climate and rich soil allows for strong, beautiful flax. With Belgian linen, you’ll experience bedding with the highest quality fibers. That said, the production of high-quality linen is still an important part of European cultures from countries like Ireland and Italy. Linen used predominantly for homewares is also produced in the United States in relatively large quantities. Data is not available on the price of unprocessed linen but the price of woven linen fabric fluctuates between $5 and $12 per yard making it one of the most expensive natural fibers in the world. Despite this linen remains in high demand for specific niche applications.
Benefits, Uses, and Environmental Impact
In hot climates, linen is still used to produce everyday clothing in large quantities as people living near equatorial regions can benefit from linen’s high moisture-wicking but low moisture-retaining profile. Even the natural white color of this fabric inherently reflects heat-inducing solar rays. It can be used to make practically anything commonly made from cotton or wool, like shirts, pants, dresses, skirts, jackets, blazers, vests, lingerie and underwear, nightgowns and dressing robes, and a wide variety of other casual and formal wear.
Overall, linen is one of the least environmentally damaging textiles. Unlike synthetic textiles, natural fabrics are biodegradable, which means that their constituent molecules are reabsorbed into the surrounding environment within a matter of years instead of centuries. Natural fibers also don’t contribute to the ongoing microfiber pollution crisis in the hydrosphere, which threatens aquatic and human life.
