Linen weaving

Fiber content = 50% by vol., linen weave, cable direction = testing direction. 

Plain weave (linen weave) the weft thread passes successively above and then below each warp thread, and then inversely in the following pass. It is a one-by-one weave where one filling thread floats over one warp thread providing bidirectional strength properties. 

The choice of the filter medium is often the most important consideration to ensure efficient operation of a filter. Its function is generally to act as a support for the filter cake, while the initial layers of cake provide the actual filter. The filter medium should be selected primarily on the basis of its ability to retain solids without binding. It should be mechanically strong and corrosion resistant, and should offer as little resistance as possible to the flow of the filtrate. The media are made from widely different materials such as cotton, wool, linen, nylon, jute, silk, glass fiber, porous carbon, metals, rayon and other synthetics, and miscellaneous materials like porous rubber. Cotton fabrics are most commonly used because they are available in a wide variety of weaves, and are cheap. 

Like cotton, there are many different linen fabrics made from the basic flax fiber. Most of these are defined only by the type of weave and the fineness of the fiber, such as cambric and damask. The word linen is usually applied only to unbleached plain weave material. Some names are applied to similar fabrics made of cotton and linen. An example of this is canvas, a plainly woven fabric of varying weight made from hard-twisted yam. Canvas may be made from hemp, cotton, jute, or flax (linen). Most fine fabrics, particularly of European or American manufacture, are made from flax. Since its invention in the 1600s, most lace has also been made of flax thread. 

Indeed, materials in a fibrous form have been used by mankind for a long time. Fiber yams have been used for making fabrics, ropes, and cords, and for many other uses since prehistoric times, long before scientists had any idea of the internal structure of these materials. Weaving of cloth has been an important part of most ancient societies. The term fabric is frequently employed as a metaphor for society. One talks of the social fabric or moral fiber of a society, etc. It is interesting to note that an archeological excavation of a 9000-year-old site in Thrkey led to the discovery of a piece of fabric, a piece of linen, woven from the fibers of a flax plant (New York Times, 1993). Normally, archeologists date an era by the pottery of that era. It would appear from this discovery that even before the pottery, there were textile fabrics. There is also recorded use of sutures as stitches... 

Polyester/long-staple fibres are used in the linen industry, where yams may be of either the stretch broken or unbroken type, but more commonly of the latter. The linen component of the blend may be of bleached or unbleached fibre and yams spun from unbleached fibre may be bleached before weaving. Most fabrics in this blend are woven on sized (singles) warps. Unmodified warp sizes are removed by enzyme treatment and non-cellulosic matter is removed by an alkaline scour. 

Weaving plant fibers is a relatively recent development in human history, apparently for technological reasons. Before our ancestors learned to spin or weave, they discovered which plants contained useful fibers and how these fibers could be extracted. According to archaeological evidence, one of the earliest plants used for fiber was flax (Linum usitatissimum). It was woven into linen at least 8000 years ago. The cultivation and uses of flax were beautifully illustrated on the walls of Egyptian tombs (Figure 7B). 

Plain/canvas/linen/tabby weaving detail of a diagram of the structure of a balanced plain weave textile (source Wikimedia Commons, file Tabbylsm.png, author Jauncourt). 

Art linen n. A plain-weave, softly finished fabric used either bleached or unbleached as a base fabric for needlework. 

Butcher s linen n. A plain weave, stiff fabric with thick and thin yarns in both the warp and the filling. The fabric was originally made of linen but is now duplicated in 100% polyester or a variety of blends such as polyester/rayon or polyester/cotton. 

Leno weave le-(i)no- [per. ff. F linon linen fabric, lawn, ff. ME lin flax, linen, ff. L linum flax] (1821) n. A weave in which the warp yarns are arranged in pairs with one twisted around the other between picks of filhng yarn as in marquisette. This type of weave gives firmness and strength to an open weave fabric and prevents slippage and displacement of warp and filling yarns. Kadolph SJJ, Langford AL (2001) Textiles. Pearson Education, New York. 

Reel re(9)l [ME, ff. OE hreol akin to ON hroell weaver s reed, Gk krekein to weave] (before 12c) n. (1) A revolving frame on which yarn is wound to form hanks orskeins. (2) The frame on which silk is wound from the cocoon. (3) A linen yarn measure of 72,000 yards. (4) The large wheel in a horizontal warper onto which the warp sections are wound in the indirect system of warping. (5) A spool of large capacity used to wind yarn or wire. 

Shade cloth n. A plain-weave cotton or linen fabric that is heavily sized and is often given oil treatment to make it opaque. The fabric is used for curtains and shades. 

Linen can be used to make a very wide range of fabrics, for many applications. A few years ago, the weaving of linen was the work of a few specialist weavers today the evolution in equipment and the quality of the yam available on the market have allowed a great part of the textile sector to use linen in the development of increasingly competitive products. The development of products in pure linen or majority blended linen has continued to grow in response to the new trends in fashion and the expectation of consumers. 

The weaving of ramie yam does not pose any problem and all kinds of linen and cotton looms are used for this purpose. The ramie can be dyed in tops, in yam or in fabrics and its dyeing properties are similar to those of linen and cotton. Very rich in cellulose, ramie remains snow white after exposure to the sun. The textiles woven from ramie yam show excellent wearing properties and cover a vast range, mnning from very fine shirting to heavy uniform suitings. 

Toile Kwal n [F, cloth, linen, fr. MF] (1794) (1) Abroad term describing many simple plain weave twiU fabrics, especially those made from linen. (2) Sheer cotton and linen fabrics. 

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