Linen Fabric is noted as the fabric of luxury. It symbolises comfort and elegance. It is antibacterial and antifungi and does not cause irritation or allergies when worn. It gives protection against UV radiation. The fabric carries tensile strength and is highly durable. It absorbs moisture 20 times of its weight but never gives a wet impression. After each wash, linen fabric gets stronger with better look. Since linen has low elasticity, linen cloths do not deform themselves. Linen fabric is 100% biodegradable and is waste-less.
Linen fabric is being used for more than 10,000 years. It used to be called the fabric of the kings. Egyptians used it extensively. Wrapping mummies in long lengths of linen was very common. The ancient Phoenician's used to make sails from heavy weight linen fabric for their sails. In 15th century, linen fabric was used as canvas for painting. Linen fabric is obtained from the flax plant. The major producer of linen fabric is Ireland. It manufactures 20% of the European Union linen yarn. The annual production of linen fabric in Ireland is 2,000 tons per annum. Ireland also produces the world's best linen fabric.
Linen is widely blended with wool. The combination of linen and wool is known as linsey-woolsey. In linsey-woolsey fabric, linen is used as warp threads for strength and wool is used as weft threads to give bulk and warmth to the fabric.