Textiles, Linens

Linen is a material made from the fibers of the flax (and historically, cannabis) plant. more...

Flax fiber

Today the word "linen" is descriptive of a class of woven textiles used in homes as towels, sheets, and tablecloths. In the past the word also referred to lightweight undergarments like shirts, chemises, waistshirts, lingerie, and detachable shirt collars and cuffs. Modern linens are typically manufactured of natural fibers like cotton, silk, modal, and (sometimes) flax, as well as synthetic fibers including polyester, rayon, etc. Historically, linens were manufactured almost exclusively of fibers from the flax plant ("linum usitatisimum") but also hemp, cotton and/or a blend of these fibers. Flax fiber is strong when both wet and dry, durable, cool to the skin, and resistant to rotting in damp climates. It is one of the few textiles that has a greater breaking strength wet than dry. It has a long "staple" (individual fiber length) relative to cotton and other natural fibers.

The fiber in its un-spun state is called flax. After it is spun into yarn it becomes linen.

Measure

The standard measure of bulk linen yarn is the lea. This is a specific length, or indirect grist system, i.e. the number of length units per unit mass. A yarn having a size of 1 lea will give 300 yards per pound. The fine yarns used in handkerchiefs, etc. might be 60 lea, and give 60x300 = 18000 yards per pound. The symbol is NeL.

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