Linen: the summer icon of the classy man

The Holy Shroud preserved in Turin is a linen sheet, woven in a herringbone pattern

Even older than writing, already present throughout the continent in the Neolithic era and woven in Egypt about 8,000 years ago, linen has gone through history.

Linum Usitatissimum, a plant from which, following the maceration of the fibers, the fabric is obtained, has been known in the region of ancient Egypt since the fifth millennium BC. It was used to create dresses, tunics and blankets, but also for writing and for the famous mummification. In fact, the ancient Egyptians used finely woven linen bandages to wrap their mummies.

Cultivated by Egyptians, Phoenicians, and other peoples of the Middle East, they spread its use to Greeks and Romans. The Phoenicians, famous merchants and illustrious navigators, exported it to Brittany, Ireland and England: thanks to this route it reached northern Europe. The latter used linen not only for the garments worn by the aristocracy, but also for the sails of the ships.

For the Greeks it becomes a must, Homer in the Iliad reminds us that the dress commonly used in Greece was the linen chiton: a tunic worn by men and women made with a linen cloth sewn as

a bottomless sack, tied at the waist by a cord and secured at the shoulders by two buckles. Short for men, long for high-ranking characters and women.

During the Roman period, the cultivation and processing of this fiber developed throughout the Empire and the Romans were the first to use it not only for clothing but also for the home.

Although in 1300 the Arabs introduced cotton, linen now widespread throughout Europe managed to maintain its dominance throughout the Middle Ages.

The Holy Shroud preserved in Turin is also a linen sheet: it measures 437xl11 cm; it has a herringbone pattern and has been spun and woven by hand, with many irregularities.

With the Renaissance, the taste for a refined lifestyle increased the presence of linen in daily life and the “thieuliette” was used to produce sheets and shirts. In the Bolognese tomb of the Bears, it was

found a tintinnabulum, bronze bell, depicting the stages of processing linen to obtain the fabric: from carding, to spinning, to weaving.

Linen began to lose its dominance over other textile fibers in the 18th century, with the invention of the first spinning machines, and with the intensive production of cotton in North America, the latter began to prevail over linen until it conquered a dominant position becoming the most used fiber for the mass production of fabrics. However, linen remained the sought-after fiber for its excellence, adding to Europe the maximum splendor between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with explorers and great travelers who ventured into Africa and Asia dressed in linen, launching colonial style fashion. In Italy up to half a century ago it was traditional for young women to own linen items in the linen kit to bring as a dowry to the wedding.

From seed to fabric, from plant to yarn, here are the procedures: sowing and harvesting, maceration, separation of the fibers, combing, spinning.

It is generally sown in October. The seeds can be planted in two ways depending on the final use. Sparse to allow the plant to grow with more branches and to produce many flowers and fruits, or dense, to make the stems develop in height without branches and obtain longer and finer textile fibers. Harvesting takes place by tearing the stems, a necessary procedure as cutting them would shorten the fibers. Depending on the product to be obtained, it is harvested in three different moments: in the phase that goes from the withering to the ripening of the fruit.

To produce a fine linen called blue linen, the plant is harvested when the stem is still green, thus obtaining a very fine but not very resistant filament. This type of linen is mainly intended for the creation of fine lace and embroidery. To obtain a more resistant fiber, the harvest is carried out when the stem is half yellow. From this collection we get the white linen,

more resistant and more suitable for weaving.

The last harvest is done when the stem is dark yellow to obtain a very resistant fiber.

The processing begins with maceration, a process useful for freeing the fibers from the rubbery part. There are several types of maceration. The most common are those in stagnant waters and those in running waters, submerging bundles of flax for a certain time. At the end of this operation, the stems are closed in bundles and placed in the sun to dry. It is then beaten by a machine, consisting of two cylinders wrapped in a thick material between which the fiber is passed, this step serves to soften it and then start the combing phase.

Combing: the fibers extracted from the plant are processed with the use of combs or combing machines with very dense teeth. This step loosens the knots, selects the fibers, cleaning them from the remnants of the woody parts.

Long fibers are used for spinning and weaving fine fabrics, with shorter or broken fibers coarser fabrics are made (bags or cloths); like silk, linen also has scraps, the famous “waste”, used for the production of paper. It is then boiled with the aim of softening, bleaching and thinning it. During this phase you can start painting. Immediately afterwards, we proceed to spinning, that is the processing with which the worsted fiber or tow is transformed into yarn. I remember that once this operation was done by hand by spinners with the use of the spinning wheel and the spindle.

Today linen is the least used among the textile fibers. But it has lost nothing of its dominant position in terms of quality and fine fabric among consumers. Linen is in fact perceived as an elite product that gives a touch of elegance when used for clothing, upholstery or home textiles. Even today, linen keeps its charm intact and is revived by fashion and designers with new designs, colors, processes and finishes.

After having accompanied man for about 10,000 years, linen enters the third millennium passing through the main door, the one where quality is combined with lifestyle and creativity.