What is Linen and How it is Made

Linen is a very commonly heard and used word.removed through a mechanized process. This process
Broadly and in a more collective sense, linen refers tois called rippling or winnowing.
the fabric that has been widely used for bed sheets,After rippling, the process of retting is done. In the
dish towels, tablecloths, upholstery, wallpapers, wallprocess of retting the fabrics on the stalk are
coverings, canvases, window treatments, suits, skirts,loosened. The fibres are loosened either by the natural
dresses, shirts, sewing thread and luggage.process or by the use of chemicals. Chemicals are
It has been in used since the ancient times for manyavoided because they are harmful for the environment
purposes. The mummies, discovered in Egypt, wereand also for the fibres.
wrapped in linen as it was supposed to beOnce the fibres are loosened, they go through the
sophistication.process of scotching. In the process of scotching, the
There is no doubt about the sophistication of linen as itstalks of the flax plant are crushed by the rollers. After
was used as a handkerchief, which was folded andthe stalks are crushed, fibres are separated.
put into the breast pocket to be visible from there.Once the fibres are separated from the stalks, the
It is still a sophistication and in fact a luxury because itlong fibres are separated from the small fibres. This
is still very difficult to make. Pure linen is made throughprocess of separating small fibres from the long fibres
a very delicate process. Therefore, it is not producedis known as heckling.
on a large scale. It is used as a canvass for paintingsAfter the fibres are separated, they are ready for the
but then again the renowned painters use it because itnext step. The next step is the conversion of fibres
is very expensive. Even the dresses and the bed, bathinto the fabric. These fibres first go through the
and kitchen items made of pure linen are veryprocess of spinning to make yarn. Then this yarn is
expensive.woven to make textile.
Now to be more precise, linen is a fabric that is madeThe textile then goes through many procedures,
from the fibres of flax plant. Although it is madeaccording to the requirement or the planning of the
through a very difficult procedure but it is valued veryfinished product. It is either dyed or it goes through
much because of its quality of coolness and comfort.printing to make prints on it. To make it into a finished
In order to make linen, the fibres of the flax planted areproduct, it goes through many treatments.
specially taken care of during harvesting. They areThis is how natural fine linen is produced. After learning
harvested by hand so the fibres do not get destroyedthe complex and intensive procedure of the making,
or break.you must now understand why this product is so
Once the flax fibres are harvested, the seed areexpensive and why is it so classy to use it in the
removed from the fibres. These seeds are usuallyclothing as well as other things around us.