Linen has been used by handcrafters for thousands of years – and with good reason. It’s strong, breathable, sustainable, and full of character. In this post, we explore why linen is a favourite in crafting circles today, from embroidery and felting to slow-stitch and textile art, with a look at how it’s made and what makes it special to work with.

Why Crafters Love Linen

Linen’s strength, texture, and natural origins give it a unique appeal in handcrafting. It holds its shape beautifully, making it ideal for visible mending, hand embroidery, and slow stitching. The natural grip of the fibres offers excellent control when layering fabrics or working with wool in needle felting. Its subtle texture also makes it a fantastic surface for hand printing, natural dyeing, and botanical contact printing.

Because of its absorbency, linen fibre takes up natural dyes particularly well, giving rich, earthy tones that suit organic and minimalist aesthetics. And for anyone working with hand tools—needles, felting needles, awls, looms—linen’s toughness means it can handle repeat work without tearing or warping.

From Flax to Fabric: How Linen is Made

Linen is made from the fibres of the flax plant. Flax is grown worldwide, prized not only for its use in textiles but also for its seeds and oil, which are rich in omega-3.

To make the highest quality linen, the flax is harvested early, before it fully matures, and pulled up by the roots. This helps preserve the length and strength of the fibres. It’s a slow, mostly manual process – machine-cut flax tends to result in coarser, less even fabric.

After harvesting, the plants are dried for several weeks and then threshed to remove the seeds. The next step is retting, where the flax bundles are soaked in water. This loosens the woody outer stalk so that the finer inner fibres can be extracted. Natural retting is time-consuming, but it’s preferred by traditional producers because it avoids the use of harsh chemicals.

Once retted, the stalks are dried and cured, then passed through rollers to strip away the broken outer material. The remaining fibres are combed to remove any short or tangled pieces. The long, strong fibres left behind are then spun into linen yarn.

Natural Strength Meets Practical Beauty

For handmakers, the character of linen really shines through in the finished fabric. It has a tactile feel, a subtle sheen, and a structure that gets softer over time without losing integrity. Linen is breathable and moisture-wicking, which makes it perfect for handcrafted garments, especially summer wear. It’s also hypoallergenic, antibacterial, and biodegradable—an ideal option for those who care about working with environmentally responsible materials.

A Surface with Personality

Unlike smoother cottons or synthetics, linen has a slubbed texture that brings warmth and visual interest to textile crafts, making it an excellent base for hand embroidery, visible mending, needle felting, natural dyeing, eco-printing, bookbinding, fabric collage, textile art, and handmade garments. Its natural strength means it’s less likely to fray or distort under hand tension—an underrated bonus for slow stitchers and mixed-media makers.

Where Does the Best Linen Come From?

Today, linen is produced in many countries, with China being the largest exporter. However, crafters looking for fine-quality cloth often turn to Belgian and French linen, where flax is grown in cooler climates with ideal soil conditions. The results are smoother, stronger fibres with a more refined finish—perfect for projects where the fabric itself is meant to be seen and appreciated.

Whether you’re stitching, dyeing, felting, or layering, linen brings natural beauty, strength, and versatility to handcrafts. It’s slow to produce and even slower to wear out – exactly the kind of material that suits a slower, more mindful way of making.