A material record / Textile
Linen
Cloth woven from flax fibre: stronger than cotton, slightly slubbed and naturally grey-gold.
01 / Origin
Where it comes from.
Linen is woven from the bast fibres of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum, native to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coast of Europe. Flax has been grown for its fibre since before 5000 BCE.
The plants are harvested, dried, retted, crushed and cleaned to free the fibres, which are yellowish to grey. They are longer and stronger than cotton, which is why linen was long preferred for painters’ canvas.
02 / Colour
The colours it gives.
Sampled from the material, at the numbered points.
Undyed linen sits between oatmeal and grey-gold, with darker slubs in the weave.
- 01Light
#CDC1B3 - 02Body
#B3A595 - 03Slub
#7A664F
03 / In the studies
Where it appears.
3 studies use it.
Care
Linen softens with washing. Line-dry or dry it flat, and iron it while slightly damp.