Sewing with Linen Fabric: Linen is a wonderfully natural material that can be used to sew many beautiful projects. Here are my tips for working with linen fabrics!
The most important things at a glance
- In this post, I have summarized the differences between the various types of linen for you and will give you tips on what to pay attention to when working with this fine fabric
- Linen is a very natural, sustainable material that consists of 100% natural fibers
- Linen is naturally dirt-repellent and antistatic
- The hallmark of linen fabrics is their tendency to wrinkle
- In this post, I have summarized the differences between the various types of linen for you
- Linen feels cool, smooth, and pleasant
- Linen allows the skin's microclimate to function completely naturally
Let's go, linen: How to work with summery linen fabrics!
What makes linen fabrics special?
Linen has been a popular material for summery clothing, bed and table linen for hundreds of years. But underwear, dish towels, and other household textiles have also been and continue to be made from linen.
Linen is a very natural, sustainable material that consists of 100% natural fibers. It feels cool and smooth. It does not develop lint or "pilling" like wool, for example. And it is naturally dirt-repellent and antistatic. This means you won't get "flyaway hairs" when you wear it.
Traditionally, linen is woven in a plain weave. The slightly irregular structure created by this is easy to recognize. This is partly due to slight irregularities in the yarn.
Linen can absorb a lot of moisture relative to its weight and is therefore particularly popular for summery clothing: It absorbs sweat well and releases the moisture quickly.
The hallmark of linen fabrics, however, is their tendency to wrinkle. Real linen fabric wrinkles beautifully. This is intentional and is generally highly appreciated as a sign of naturalness. In sewing patterns designed specifically for linen fabrics, this fabric property is already "taken into account".
If you don't love the wrinkliness of 100% linen, you have the option of using linen-blend fabrics. A good alternative is viscose-linen or linen-viscose blends (depending on which is contained in greater amounts!). They also offer coolness and naturalness, but tend to wrinkle less because of the viscose content. Instead, they show a beautiful, flattering drape.
Linen is a high-quality material that is also suitable for artistic and decorative fabric designs. For example, for a tone-on-tone Asia-style print* or the French Toile de Jouy design*, which was invented in the second half of the 18th century. The special thing about the Toile de Jouy, the fabrics from the small town of Jouy-en-Josas near Versailles, was the copperplate printing: In delicate shades of blue and red, rural scenes play on the natural-white background. Today, the Toile de Jouy* is mostly woven from cotton.
What are linen fabrics made of?
Pure linen consists of 100% cellulose obtained from flax. This makes linen a natural fiber that has been used to make clothing for hundreds of years.
Semi-linen refers to a blend of linen and cotton, where the linen content must be at least 40%. On finished clothing, a linen label indicates the composition of the material.
In stores, linen fabrics can be found in many material blends. This allows you to always choose the right linen fabric depending on the project.
Why is linen environmentally friendly?
In its pure form, linen is pure nature, namely 100% natural flax fibers. These are 100% biodegradable.
Compared to cotton, significantly fewer pesticides are used when growing flax. Furthermore, less water is required.
In this sense, linen is a very environmentally friendly material. If you want to be 100% sure that your fabric has been tested for harmful substances (fabric dyes can also contain harmful substances!), you should opt for organic linen.
What properties do linen fabrics have?
Since pure linen is often very wrinkle-prone and not always easy to work with, linen blends are now available that are often easier to work with and do not wrinkle as much.
For example, here are linen-viscose fabrics* or linen-cotton blends*, which promise a beautiful drape and easier processing.
In the fashion industry, there are now also beautiful linen-virgin wool blends, although they are very rarely available in fabric stores.
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Why is linen so skin-friendly?
Linen allows the skin's microclimate to function completely naturally. The flax fibers are able to absorb large amounts of moisture without feeling wet. Furthermore, the fabric dries particularly quickly because it releases the absorbed moisture quickly.
Linen clothing therefore does not cause heat buildup and ensures that the skin is always well ventilated. Linen fabrics are naturally antibacterial and release very little dust. This makes them an ideal material for allergy sufferers.
Few pesticides are used when growing linen, which is why linen is also well suited for children's and baby clothing .
Does linen need to be washed before sewing?
Absolutely! Linen tends to shrink. This is also called "shrinking". In good fabric stores, the product description also includes an indication of what percentage the fabric will shrink by when washed.
After drying, the linen should be carefully ironed with steam on the linen setting.
There is also pre-washed linen, which is characterized by a particularly soft drape. Unfortunately, it is rarely found in shops.
What is raw linen?
Raw linen* is coarsely woven linen with a firm, grainy structure. It has the natural flax color, which is slightly reminiscent of ash blonde, and consists of 100% flax fibers. Because raw linen has not yet been pre-treated, the shrinkage is often up to 10%.
Raw linen is an ideal material for bed and table linen and brings a beautiful rustic look!
What is peasant linen?
Peasant linen* consists of 100% flax fibers, but is woven somewhat unevenly. The fabric is particularly strong and is often used for table linen, napkins, or in the kitchen area.
What is baker's linen?
A particularly tightly woven, undyed linen cloth that is used in bakeries. There, the baker's linen* is used, for example, as a drying cloth or dough cloth, because the properties of the fabric prevent dough from sticking to it.
The heavy baker's linen*, also called baking linen, is suitable for contact with food. Bakers appreciate it because it keeps the top layer of dough intact when the dough is moved.
What is cheese linen?
Cheese linen* is a fine but tightly woven fabric that is used for making cheese: You can use it for straining or filtering food.
Most cheese linen* is not really made of linen at all, but is made of cotton.
How do you care for and wash linen fabrics?
In principle, linen fabrics are boil-proof. This is particularly practical for white or natural-colored linen used in the kitchen or household.
However, many linen fabrics nowadays are finished and do not tolerate boiling well. Usually, it is sufficient to wash them at 30°C to 40°C.
Before the linen goes into the washing machine, you should sew the cut edges with a finishing stitch. Otherwise, the fabric may look like this after washing:
Linen can best be dried simply on a clothesline. Before hanging it up, it should be pulled into shape. Clothing can also be dried directly on hangers.
Linen can be ironed with steam on the linen setting. It also works very well without steam if the fabric still has some residual moisture.
Hot tip from my grandma: Linen fabrics dry lightning fast, especially in summer. To iron the linen, my grandma always had a spray bottle with water (and a drop of lavender) ready. That makes even the stiffest linen pliable!
What do you need to pay attention to when cutting linen?
It is highly recommended to cut with a sharp pair of scissors or a rotary cutter: Linen frays badly! To prevent this, you can also finish the cut edges directly after cutting with a finishing stitch or with an overlocker.
In my experience, it is a very good idea to cut linen with a titanium blade*. Titanium blades are very hard and extremely sharp.
You can also check how much your fabric tends to fray before cutting.
To do this, pull a few threads out of the cut edge. If it happens very easily, you can also cut the fabric directly with a rotary cutter equipped with a serrated blade*. I have also had very good experiences with this method.
Pay attention to the grain of the linen: If you don't stick to it, the finished garment may become distorted.
If the chosen sewing pattern does not include an extra-wide seam allowance for working with linen, you should remember to plan for a seam allowance of approx. 1.5 cm for French seams or flat-felled seams.
Where can you buy linen fabrics?
Since there can be very large quality differences in linen, I like to buy my linen fabrics where I already know the quality. I can recommend the linen fabrics* from Hemmers: I have sewn dozens of them and have always been very satisfied with the result!
How do you mark linen fabrics?
Linen sometimes has the peculiarity of "remembering" the markings you make with fabric markers. If you want to transfer markings from the sewing pattern onto the fabric, you should do so only on the wrong side of the fabric and even then only within the seam allowance.
In principle, I advise using sewing pins or fabric clips instead.
You should also avoid using pins, because the fabric could fray.
What stitch and stitch length do you use to sew linen?
Sew linen with a straight stitch of 2.5 to 3.5 millimeters. A zigzag stitch or an overlock stitch is also very suitable.
In principle, you can also finish all cut pieces with the overlocker before sewing.
Sewing linen fabrics: What thread is suitable?
A regular all-purpose thread* made of polyester is perfect for linen fabrics. It creates beautiful, sturdy seams.
If you want "pure nature," you can also sew linen fabrics with cotton sewing thread. In this case, too, the cotton threads* from Gütermann are, in my opinion, virtually unbeatable in terms of quality. In the USA, I have also come to know and appreciate those from Mettler*.
Which sewing machine needles are suitable?
You can sew fine linen fabric perfectly with 70- or 80-size universal needles. For coarse rustic linen, a needle size of 90 may sometimes be necessary. You should test this on a sample in the individual case.
Suitable patterns for linen
Clothing patterns suitable for working with linen fabrics are usually casually cut.
Linen is great for loose, cooling summer blouses. For example, for my FAYE blouse, which lets plenty of air reach the skin while still making you look chic and dressed up!
Here you can see FAYE in pure linen in a beautiful mottled anthracite shade:
Of course, linen fabrics can also be wonderfully used to make tops, bags, decorations, and accessories for your home. Cushion covers made of linen are, for example, a really great idea!
Also very elegant: You can sew the most beautiful napkins from linen. :)
Seams on linen fabrics tear: What to do?
Sometimes blog readers tell me that the seams of their linen garments tear. Or rather: That the fabric right next to the seam stretches and frays. And they ask what they can do about it.
It is important to choose the right seam for the respective project. Linen seams need special attention.
In the following sections, I will show you how you can sew linen neatly.
Which seams are suitable for linen fabrics?
For example, you can work with linen using flat-felled seams, like the ones you know from jeans. But French seams are also very suitable for linen fabrics.
Sewing linen fabric with a French seam
For the French seam, you should allow a little more seam allowance than the usual centimeter. I always add at least 1.5 cm for French seams.
Place the fabric pieces right sides together, flush with each other, and pin them together.
Sew the fabric edges together with a straight stitch 5 - 6 millimeters from the fabric edge.
Trim the seam allowances down to 3 millimeters and press them open.
Now fold the fabric right sides together. The seam should lie exactly in the fold.
Now topstitch the seam 1 cm from the seam with a straight stitch.
Sewing linen fabric with a flat-felled seam
Note: Allow a seam allowance of 1.5 cm here!
Pin both fabric pieces together right sides together.
Sew them together with a straight stitch 1.5 cm from the fabric edge.
Trim one of the seam allowances down to 5 - 6 mm, the other remains at 1.5 cm.
Fold the wide seam allowance over the narrow one.
Then fold both again a second time. This works very well by pressing the seam allowance.
Topstitch the seam allowances from the right parallel to the first seam with a straight stitch.
Sewing linen fabric with a faux flat-felled seam
A faux flat-felled seam is also quick to make.
Here, too, you should allow a seam allowance of 1.5 cm.
Place the two fabric pieces together right sides together..
Sew them together with a straight stitch 1.5 cm from the edge.
Sew the seam allowances together with an overlock or finishing stitch.
Press the seam allowances to one side and topstitch them either from the right or from the left with a straight stitch.
Interfacing & Co.: How can you reinforce linen fabrics?
When reinforcing linen fabrics, it depends on what project the fabric is intended for.
Linen fabrics for bags and pouches can be very well reinforced with Vliesline H630* or H250*. Just like other woven fabrics.
If you want to reinforce, for example, the facings of blouses or tunics, you should use a light, rather elastic interfacing. For my cuts, I like to use Vlieseline G785*. It is great for facings that are stable, but at the same time flexible. It is available in black and white.
If the fabric you want to reinforce is a bit firmer or the cut requires a bit more support, you can use Cotton interfacing G700*. It is also suitable as reinforcement for jacket lapels, welt pockets, or collars.
Both interfacings should not be washed at more than 40 degrees.
If your finished piece is to be washed at higher temperatures, you can use Vlieseline F220* as interfacing. It is made of polyester and is washable up to 60 degrees.
Did my tips for sewing with linen fabric help you?
Feel free to write something to me in the comments!
Happy simple sewing,
your Sabine
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