Linen: the natural fibre from flax
Like cotton and hemp, linen is one of the plant-based natural fibres. The fibre is obtained from the stems of the flax plant, an annual plant that grows 20-100 cm tall. Linen accounts for around 2% of global fibre production.
Flax prefers a maritime climate and grows mainly in northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The harvest is labour-intensive: pulling, turning, baling. Many traditional steps are still carried out in the same way today, just with the help of machines. After the harvest, the fibres are spun into yarn and woven into linen fabric.
Properties of Linen
What makes linen special for bed linen and home textiles:
- Absorbs moisture and releases it again quickly
- Smooth fibre, so it produces little lint
- Firm handle that gets softer with every wash
- Low elasticity, which is why it creases easily
How linen feels in bed is a matter of taste: some people love exactly this firmer, slightly rough handle, others prefer cotton.
After the harvest, the fibres have to be separated from the stem. The most common method for this is dew retting: the flax is left lying on the field and dew and micro-organisms do the work. According to the European flax association, a large share of the growing area is farmed this way.
Linen by erlich textil
We use linen, which our producer in Portugal makes into home textiles. This is used for our tablecloths, napkins and our bed linen, which is made from linen and organically grown cotton.
Proper linen care
Washing:
Undyed linen can take up to 95 °C. Do not wash dyed linen fabrics above 40 °C. Use a delicate cycle with max. 600 rpm and no fabric softener. Expect up to 5% shrinkage on the first wash, so do the first wash at 30 °C. When hand-washing linen, don't rub it, just squeeze gently.
Drying:
Not in the tumble dryer: linen fibres don't tolerate friction. Onto the washing line it goes.
Ironing:
Linen creases naturally. It's best to take textiles off the line before they are completely dry and iron them straight away. Alternatively, lightly spray them with water before ironing. With bed linen, creases are often even wanted, they're part of linen's charm.
