The Sheridan Linen Story

Linen textiles may well be the oldest in the world; its history goes back many thousands of years with dyed flax fibre remnants possibly dating back to 36,000BC. The ancient Egyptians wore linen on a daily basis enjoying its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather. Linen became known, and to date is still regarded as a symbol of refinement, dignity and elegance especially in the West and East of Europe.

Starting from humble beginnings, linen comes from Flax and some of the worlds best Flax is grown in Europe and processed in Belgium. Belgium produced Linen fibres are renowned for their excellent quality due to its light blond colour and excellent strength. Sheridan’s Linen comes from Flax grown in Belgium, France, Poland, Romania and Czechoslovakia, it’s turned into the Linen fibres in Belgium, they only use plants with a minimum 500mm fibre length this means the plant has be grown to full maturity and will guarantee a better quality linen fibre.

Sleeping in linen is a truly unique experience delivering the ultimate in comfort and luxury unlike any other fabric. Ideally suited to the Australian climate and lifestyle, linen’s unique thermo-regulating qualities ensure that you’ll experience one of life’s great pleasures, a good night’s sleep, no matter what the season.

Known for its timeless durability and beauty, linen has been prized throughout the ages for being both strong and delicate at the same time, often handed down from generation to generation.In today’s busy and hectic world, where wellbeing has become a focus, and sleep, an essential ingredient in life, linen creates a beautiful refuge to look forward to every night.

Production

The flax plant is also known as common flax or linseed and is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. Grown both for its seeds and its fibre, various parts of the plant have been used to make fabric, dye, paper, medicines, fishing nets, hair gels, and soap.

Before the flax fibres can be spun into linen, they must be separated from the rest of the stalk. After the fibres have been separated and processed, they are typically spun into yarns and woven or knit into linen textiles.Most bed linen yarns are 14’s and thicker we use a finer 17’s with longer fibres; we especially spin these yarns with extra twist to get a finer fabric that gives improved hand feel, lustre and pilling results which means longer life whilst ensuring we maintain the thermal and absorbency properties Linen lovers look for.

In processing the woven fabric we perform double process in a similar manner to what the finest apparel linens go through (this is not normally done in wide width bed linen) this removes the waxes, gum and for want of a better term gunk that’s commonly left in a lot of linen fabric bulking it up and impacting handle and performance, this processing method it improves absorption dye ability, hand feel and lustre. To further improve the lustre and absorbency we mercerise the fabric and in the finishing we wash the fabric to enhance the natural look and feel.

Before the flax fibres can be spun into linen, they must be separated from the rest of the stalk. After the fibres have been separated and processed, they are typically spun into yarns and woven or knit into linen textiles. These textiles can then be bleached, dyed, printed on, or finished with a number of treatments or coatings. The flax thread is not elastic and so it is more difficult to weave than cotton, but as a result once woven into fabric, will to hold its shape much longer than most other fibres such as cotton or wool.

Linen Attributes

Caring for Linen

People often worry about caring for linen, but with the Abbotson range, it’s as simple as machine washing, drying naturally or in the dryer and ironing while damp. We actually love the natural emotive state and texture of unironed linen! Experience the ultimate in luxury, without the hassle of time consuming maintenance.

The Trend of Layering

Create a unique, relaxed, ode to linen in your own bedroom through the layering. Use the muted mid tones and nature inspired colours of Abbotson to create textured layers of beauty. Mix pieces of linen with voile sheers, chunky knit throws or your favourite bedroom pieces to create the ultimate in understated style.

The Sheridan linen ranges Abbotson and Augustine offer a great way of creating this look in a combination of the white, flax, lilac, and alchemy colours.