FLAX LINEN
Once one of the world’s most common textiles, linen now represents only 1% of global apparel fibers in use. It is the oldest known plant fiber used to make textiles and was widely used until displaced by cotton. Primary apparel uses are for suits, shirting, summer wear and home textile applications.
Flax is a cellulosic fiber that is found in the stems of the annual plant Linum sitatissimum. Flax plants produce a fiber bundle that contains many closely-packed cells that provide significant strength to the resulting linen. Flax is grown and consumed primarily in China, Russia, Poland, the United States, Italy, and France.
The flax plant is eradicated from the ground so as to have the maximum fiber length. The stems are left to macerate so that the fibers can get rid of the rubbery substances. After maceration, the textile fibers are separated from wood residues and then combed, which eliminates shorter fibers and impurities. At this point the fiber is ready for spinning.
Linen is classified according to the degree of fineness of the fibers: fine linens, which are used for thin yarns, suitable for the production of fine fabrics (batiste cloth) of lace and lace, lint-free linens that are woven into common fabrics; thick linens for ordinary fabrics. Flax fabrics are used for making household linen (tablecloths, sheets, towels) and for both male and female summer clothing. Being a rigid fiber, the garments take on a wrinkled appearance, a distinguishing main feature. Linen fibers can be mixed with cotton, wool, silk, viscose and polyester fibers which give the fabric greater resistance and better weft regularity.
SAVIO SOLUTIONS FOR FLAX YARN PROCESSING
Savio has over 40 years of experience in the automatic winding of wet-spun linen. Since this yarn is very stiff and highly abrasive, great attention has been paid to yarn control during the winding process. For this purpose, ceramic devices are provided to prevent wear of the parts and thus allow an optimal yarn path.
Furthermore, thanks to the Watersplicer, a watertight splicing device, the quality, resistance and appearance of the linen joints have reached excellent levels.