Linen Linen is a bast fibre, obtained from the stems of the flax plant. The term bast means the fleshy part inside the bark. To obtain the fibres the stems are steeped in water for a long time to rot away the soft parts, in a process called retting . After retting the woody parts are separated and the linen fibres are collected and sent for spinning.
Linen is also a cellulosic fibre, therefore, many of its properties are similar to that of cotton. The fibre is longer and finer than cotton, so the yarn produced is stronger and more lustrous. Like cotton, linen also absorbs moisture readily and, therefore, is comfortable. However, it does not absorb dyes very readily and therefore colours produced are not so bright.
Flax plant is cultivated in very few areas worldwide. Also it requires longer processing time, therefore, linen is used less than cotton. Jute and Hemp are also bast fibres like Linen. They are coarser fibres and do not have good flexibility, and are therefore used for making ropes, gunny bags and other such products.