Linen is one of the oldest cloths people have made, and one of the few that has never needed reinventing. It comes from flax, a slender plant with a pale blue flower, and it has been spun and woven for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians wrapped their dead in it and dressed their living in it.
From stalk to thread
The fibre lives inside the flax stem, not on its surface. After harvest the stalks are left to ret, soaked or laid out in the dew until the woody outer layer loosens. They are then broken, scraped and combed until only the long, pale fibres remain, and those are spun into yarn and woven into cloth.
It is slow work, and it shows in the finished fabric: small slubs, slight changes in thickness, a surface that catches the light unevenly. That irregularity is not a flaw. It is the plant still showing.
Why it suits a hot summer
Linen lets air move through it and draws moisture away from the skin, then lets it go quickly, so it feels cool rather than clammy. In an Indian summer, that matters more than almost anything else a shirt can do.
It is also strong, among the strongest of the natural fibres and stronger still when wet, so it takes years of washing. With every wash it softens, until the crisp cloth you started with feels like it has always been yours.
The crease is part of it
Linen wrinkles. There is no honest way around that, and we would rather not pretend otherwise. The creases are soft and they relax as you wear it, and most people who wear linen for a while stop minding them and start liking them. If you want it sharp, iron it while it is still slightly damp.
Looking after it
- Wash cool or lukewarm on a gentle cycle, with similar colours.
- Skip the bleach and go easy on the detergent.
- Dry it on a line or flat rather than in a hot dryer.
- Iron while slightly damp, on a medium setting.
Why we keep coming back to it
At The Mitesh, we choose linen for its longevity and the way it ages. A good linen piece is not meant to be saved for best. It is meant to be worn, washed and worn again, and to look better for it.
Less, but better. That is the art of linen.