THE VERSATILITY OF IRISH LINEN – FROM A FASHION
GARMENT TO TRADITIONAL TABLE LINEN.

	Linen Heritage

Once the fields of Down turned a misty blue each summer as the gentle flowers of flax waved, wind blown, under the summer sun. Later in the year heavy aromas hung over the little man-made dams off the county's streams as the same flax rotted and retted for a week or three as its fibres decomposed. Then came the clatter of the tiny, noisy water driven scutching mills, breaking the fibres down even further, breaking the silence of long summer evenings. Later still in spinning mills the wet flax was drafted and spun into a fine yarn, to be woven once on hand looms in weavers cottages, later in factories with steam powered looms. Years ago the woven linen was bleached in lye and laid in long bolts across the green fields for the sun and dew to complete the purpose. Finally it was despatched to a beetling mill, usually water-powered, where great wooden hammers beat a sheen upon it. Centuries of experience and skills handed down from generation to generation has made linen an integral part of Ireland’s history and its people. During its long association with the history of Northern Ireland, the Irish Linen industry has enjoyed a worldwide reputation for quality and luxury.

The Irish Linen damask and bedlinen is the first choice for Royal households, embassies, famous hotels and restaurants, and the tradition of supplying Irish Linen gifts to each new President of the United States continues to this present day. Irish Linen is still one of the most appreciated gifts that anyone can bring back from Northern Ireland.

The demand for Irish Linen continues in the haute couture houses of Paris, Milan and London, as top designers return to natural fabrics. Irish Linen’s coolness and comfort make it ideal for the less structured styles of the 21st Century.

Irish Linen is produced from soft golden flax and spun to a fine but incredibly strong yarn. Linen is the strongest and one of the most comfortable natural fibres and increases in strength when wet, which is why it washes so well and lasts so long.