I love these two fabrics! They are very similar in their high-end look, softness, comfort and breath-ability making them wearable for anywhere you live in the world and any time of the year. My least favorite things about them is the expense of either buy a clothing item or fabric. However, the piece you purchase will last a life-time, so be selective in the pieces that you buy because you will be able to wear them for a long time and this can be your small way of protecting planet earth!
Linen
Linen has been around forever. It is derived from the stalk of the flax plant. It has been used for a variety of textiles due to its elegance and beauty but also its fibers are very strong, absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. It is very comfortable to wear in hot weather due to these characteristics. It has been popular over the centuries because its fibers are 30% thicker and stronger than cotton and can absorb 20% of its weight in moisture. Linen can be expensive to buy due to the manufacturing process being timely and laborious, but it’s a strong durable fabric.
Production:
It takes 90 days from sowing the seeds to harvesting them. When harvesting the plants care is taken to preserve the tapered ends and to keep the full length of the fiber so that a smooth yarn can be spun. In comparison to cotton, far less water is used to produce these fabrics making it a more sustainable choice. Similar to wool fibers they are hollow, allowing it to keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Although China is the biggest producer of linen, high-end linens can be found from European countries like Belgium, Italy and Ireland.
Linen Blends
When blended with other fibers, characteristics of linen are then transformed to acquire some characteristics of the joining fiber:
- Linen/Rayon – Rayon blended with linen creates a substantially softer fabric with more fluid drape and a subtle sheen from the rayon.
- Linen/Cotton – Cotton softens but keeps the fullness of linen and reduces the wrinkles drastically, while keeping a crisp look.
- Linen/Polyester – Polyester helps linen to wash better, wrinkle less, and retain color-fastness. Depending on the type of fabric, polyester usually softens the feel of linen as well, but in a synthetic way.
Hemp
Just like linen, the hemp fiber has been used for thousands of years to make such things as paper, clothing, furnishing fabric, rope and building materials. Materials made from hemp were discovered in tombs dating back to 8,000 BC. It’s fairly common for people who are unacquainted with cannabis to wonder: Is hemp weed? Although hemp and marijuana are both classified biologically as cannabis, there are a number of important differences between them. These differences are evident in the way each variety is used.
Production:
Hemp stalks are processed in a very similar way to linen. It is a very fast growing crop which can produce a high fiber yield per acre. When compared to the flax plant which is used to produce linen it can produce 600% more fiber with the same amount of land. Hemp is grown in warm tropical zones or moderately cool and temperate climates. The advantage to growing this crop is that It will leave the soil in excellent condition for any succeeding crop and it does not exhaust the soil but instead leaves a rich organic matter, helping it to retain its moisture. It produces one of the most eco-friendly fabrics in the world. The other advantages is that it requires no pesticides, will crowd out weeds, can control erosion of the soil and will produce oxygen. It can be cultivated in as little as 100 days.
Hemp has the look and feel of linen and will soften with age and washing similar to linen fabrics. Hemp fabric is hypo-allergenic and non-irritating to the skin. Like linen it breathes well so it can keep you cool in the summer, making it perfect for warm humid climates. It can also resist mildew and absorb moisture similar to linen along with protecting you from the Sun’s UV rays.
Both are a good choices for fashion not only due to their sustainability and eco-friendliness, but also durability, softness, breathability, comfort and overall quality of look. You can’t go wrong if you pick either or both.
Check out my newest linen top design found in my store on D2Style.com!
