If you’ve found yourself wondering lately how it is that linen seems to be in the limelight everywhere you look, you’re not alone. It seems to be popping up everywhere these days, from glossy paged magazines featuring charmingly rustic farmhouse decor, to center stage on Social Media platforms such as Pinterest, IG, and Facebook, to even dramatic fashion show runways, as made evident this season by such power houses of fashion as the preeminent House of Dior. It appears the popularity of linen never waxes nor wanes for long either, but maintains a steady state of equilibrium amongst all the other fabrics vying for attention heretofore on the market.
The mere mention of the name, “linen”, has an ability to evoke pleasant memories and warm happy thoughts and feelings harking back many times to bygone eras. We all have some sort of association with linen and have had for generations since it made its entrance onto the platform of textiles so many thousands of years ago. This is why linen is and always has been and always will be front and center and one of the most popular choices of fabrics to choose from for all your home decor, projects, and mode of dress. Linen has a reputation for being what it claims to be but yet, it also has a way of surprising us with its rather unpredictable applications.
All the different types of linen pique the imagination as well, as the list includes curious titles such as Damask Linen, Venice Linen, Huckaback Linen, Handkerchief Linen, Holland Linen, Cambric Linen, Sheeting Linen, Toweling Linen, not to mention all the combinations of blends available.
Many products can be made with linen: aprons, bags, towels (swimming, bath, beach, body and wash towels), napkins, bed linens, tablecloths, runners, chair covers, pillows, throws, curtains, and men's, women's , and children’s wear.
It behaves in a familiar way which has proven itself over a very long period of time to be what we have come to depend on it to be and, as if linen has a life all its own, revels in the notoriety.
The old adage “what was once old, has been made new again.” has never been more poetically applied to anything it seems, than to the continual renewing and evolving of linen. Linen has a fascinating history to add to its allure, and to that end, an illuminated present exists, and be sure, just as fascinating a future will most likely unfold as linen just keeps getting better and better in terms of its cultivation, and more innovative in its application, and more interesting in its design concepts.
The spinning and weaving of linen as depicted on wall paintings of ancient Egypt as early as 3,000 B.C testify to the fact that linen has been a part of our lives for a very long time and too, as we continue to transform its use, we find it to be not only one of the most durable and versatile, but one of the most widely used fabrics on the market. Linen, quite unequivocally, has its own unique brand of history, so to speak, which stems as far back as our imaginations and factual evidence will take us.
The oldest dress ever to be found, for example, TheTarkhan Dress, aptly named for the region in which it was excavated, has been radiocarbon dated to 5,000 years old, and interestingly enough was discovered inside out and folded. The bodice was pleated and the sleeves made long. The fiber of the linen of the Tarhkan dress was processed into a very fine fabric. This same finely woven fabric was also found wrapped around the mummies of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs. It should be noted then that linen has been used as a cool and comfortable choice for clothing and bedding, and for home decor in the Middle East for centuries. Ancient Greeks and Romans valued linen as a commodity, also, which adds a layer of mystery behind this ultra valued product.
Have you ever wondered how linen may have made its way from the Middle East and into our shops, homes, and into our lives in general? It is believed that Finnish traders introduced flax to Northern Europe where it has been under cultivation for centuries. European flax produces some of the finest linens in the world. During the 17th century in the Netherlands, during the Dutch Golden Age, flax was grown and processed in abundance.
Linen was extremely important in European history for making home necessities such as towels, table cloths, napkins, curtains, spreads, bedding and clothing. During the 17th century, linen was the most important textile in the world. This tells only the beginning of the story of how linen has spanned generations beginning very early on in history. The Dutch valued linen for many different reasons as it was versatile and could be used for virtually everything and was easily cultivated and had an aesthetic appeal.
We are debuting a small line of table linens with our launch along with a very limited line of simple dresses for the Holiday season with plans to introduce a new and exclusive product line in January which will include, bedding, curtains, pillows, and a Mother/Daughter, “Match’n Mommy'' collection, based on 17th Century Dutch Golden Age design elements designed and executed by yours truly. This will be Daffodils & Delft exclusive line not available elsewhere. I hope you enjoy the available selection as much as I did creating it!
