Cool summer linen

When we started to linen scarves I didn't know a great deal about this particualr textile so I set about doing a little research.

Most natural yarns have been in use for thousands of years and this is true of linen. Fragments of fabric, as well as yarn, seeds and other parts of the Flax plant were discovered in ancient Swiss lake dwellings dating back over 8,000 years. It is highly probable though that linen dates back many more thousands of years. The production of linen is highly labour intensive and this adds to the cost and desirability of products made from it. In ancient Egypt it was at times used as currency and such was its image and symbolism as a product of light, purity and wealth that mummies were routinely wrapped in linen.

linen is made from the fibres of the flax plant and is grown primarily in Europe, Asia and N and S America. It has been prized in hot climates for millenium for its coolness and freshness and was immensley popular and valuable all around the Mediteranean thousand os years ago. The word linen is itself derived from the Latin name for the Flax plant which is "linum", and the even earlier Greek name for it of "linon". The word linen in the English language was also the source of the word "line" as lengths of linen thread were used to determine  a staright "line".

The collective term for various houshold items of fabric has long been "linens" as originally this was the traditional yarn used to make such items, namely bath, bed, table and kitchen textiles. Interestingly the it was the use of linen in other garments which gave birth to two other words of English, those being "lingerie" and "lining".

Today linen is produced in relatively small volumes and is a fairly expensive textile. For summer scarves though it has become increasingly popular in recent years. This is our first year of wholesaling linen scarves but they have proven very popular and will no doubt become a summer staple of the York Scarves collection.