• < Previous Event
• Next Event >

Comment

Comment by John on August 14, 2012 at 12:57am

Comment by daWillinChi on August 13, 2012 at 4:09am

Boo! I will be out of town on this day :(

Comment by globalguy on August 13, 2012 at 4:08am

Interesting Facts About Linen

Beneficial: in the language of flowers, flax means "benefactor" It is healthy and beneficial for the skin: thermo-regulating (insulating in winter, breathable in summer), non-allergenic and anti-bacterial….

Binding: way of crossing weft and warp. Most current weaves for linen: "linen binding" (same yarn in weft and warp), herringbone, twill, jacquard, satin, velvet.

Cambric: A precious, very fine and tightly woven linen fabric, named after a famous master-weaver (around 1275) Jean-Baptiste de Cambrai (France)..used for handkerchiefs, christening robes etc

Civilisation: Linen is the oldest textile plant cultivated in Europe and is so much part of our history that it is referred to as the " fibre of civilisation " (e.g. : Penelope's weave, The " Bayeux tapisserie", Venice chantilly or Bruges lace, …)

Combing: Further to scutching, the fibres are parallelised and strectched into ribbons ready to be spun.
Crinoline: a fabric petticoat made from horsehair and linen, stiffened by a framework of steel hoops (18th - 19th century).

Dyeing affinity: the capacity of a fabric to take a dye, an area in which linen excels, because it is a hollow fibre, which absorbs colour and reflects light.

Ecological: flax needs 5 times less fertilisers and pesticides than cotton to grow, and, as for the best wines, needs no irrigation. It's processing into fibre (see retting and scutching) respects the environment, as it is purely mechanical (using neither solvents nor water) in opposition to man made fibres such as viscose, bamboo or maize.

Comment by John on August 12, 2012 at 10:20am

There is now - thanks Alan.

Comment by Alan Lloyd on August 12, 2012 at 9:36am

John: there was no link to this on the BBC home page ...

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page