Linen Curtains - What The Flax?

At Material World, we have always loved our linen curtains. At the moment they are more popular than ever and for a few good reasons!

Natural & Non-Allergenic

Linen is made from the flax plant and is a natural fibre rather than man made like many polyester curtains these days. The flax plant produces no waste and has a range of by-products from linseed oil to flax seeds and paper pulp and linen actually uses less resources to produce than many other fibres so it is great for the environment.

As linen is non-allergenic, linen curtains are a great choice for asthma and allergy sufferers. In the past, linen bandages were a go to choice for dressing wounds thanks to it's anti-bacterial properties as well.

Nature's Thermostat

Linen curtains make for a great window barrier to help control temperature. Thanks to it's natural weave it is thermoregulating. That means it will keep you cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

Timeless and Elegant

As modern and in demand as ever despite having been used for thousands of years, linen fabrics can be incredibly long lasting if cared for correctly. In fact, when the tomb of Tutankhamen was opened, the linen curtains were still intact!

Linens are a great way to add a touch of class to any room and whilst there are many man made fabrics that attempt to replicate it, you just can't beat the natural slubby look and smooth feel of linen.

Each time you wash it, Linen is one of the few fabrics out there that will continue to get softer.

 

 

 

Stunning range of 100% linen fabrics from Mokum Textiles including Eternal, Satori Stonewash & Ocean.

Whats the catch?

There's a few reasons we don't use linens everywhere (although linen does make for great bedding and upholstery fabrics as well!). The main reasons we would recommend caution and the right advice when using linen fabrics are:

• Linen curtains can move! Linens can hold around 20% of their weight in water and will often move by up to 3%. We have seen curtains move by 10cm literally overnight so we always recommend a puddling drape to avoid this issue.
• Linen curtains can be more expensive. This is a common belief out there but we have recently seen the introduction of much lower cost linen fabrics. Pure linen fabrics can start from well under $100 per meter and linen blends can be half of that.
• You need to protect Linen curtainsfrom the sun. The Australian sun can be tough on any fabric. We would always recommend lining your linen curtains to ensure you maximise their life span.