Linen in the context of "Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution"

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⭐ Core Definition: Linen

Linen (/ˈlɪnən/) is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.

Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Linen textiles can be made from flax plant fiber, yarn, as well as woven and knitted. Linen also has other distinctive characteristics, such as its tendency to wrinkle. It takes significantly longer to harvest than a material like cotton, although both are natural fibers. It is also more difficult to weave than cotton.

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👉 Linen in the context of Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution

Textile manufacture during the British Industrial Revolution was centred in south Lancashire and the towns on both sides of the Pennines in the United Kingdom. The main drivers of the Industrial Revolution were textile manufacturing, iron founding, steam power, oil drilling, the discovery of electricity and its many industrial applications, the telegraph and many others. Railroads, steamboats, the telegraph and other innovations massively increased worker productivity and raised standards of living by greatly reducing time spent during travel, transportation and communications.

Before the 18th century, the manufacture of cloth was performed by individual workers, in the premises in which they lived and goods were transported around the country by packhorses or by river navigations and contour-following canals that had been constructed in the early 18th century. In the mid-18th century, artisans were inventing ways to become more productive. Silk, wool, and linen fabrics were being eclipsed by cotton which became the most important textile.

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Linen in the context of Canvas

Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags, electronic device cases, and shoes. It is popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame.

Although historically made from hemp, modern canvas is usually made of cotton, linen, or sometimes polyvinyl chloride (PVC). It differs from other heavy cotton fabrics, such as denim, in being plain weave rather than twill weave. Canvas comes in two basic types: plain and duck. The threads in duck canvas are more tightly woven. The term duck comes from the Dutch word for cloth, doek. In the United States, canvas is classified in two ways: by weight (ounces per square yard) and by a graded number system. The numbers run in reverse of the weight so a number 10 canvas is lighter than number 4.

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Linen in the context of Linothorax

The linothorax (/ˈlnθɔːræks/, from the Ancient Greek: λινοθώραξ, Ancient Greek: [linotʰɔ̌ːraːks]) is a type of upper body armor that was used throughout the ancient Mediterranean world. The term linothorax is a modern term based on the Greek λινοθώραξ, which means "wearing a breastplate of linen"; a number of ancient Greek and Latin texts from the 6th century BC to the third century AD mention θώρακες λίνεοι (thorakes lineoi) (Greek) or loricae linteae (Latin) which means 'linen body armour'. These are usually equated with some of the armour shown in sculptures and paintings from Italy and Greece from 575 BC onwards. Very little is known about how ancient linen armour was made. Linen armour in other cultures was usually quilted and stuffed with loose fibre or stitched together many layers thick, but it could also have been made with a special weave called twining which creates a thick, tough fabric. The theory that it was made of layers of linen glued together comes from a mistranslation of a summary of a description of medieval armour in 1869.

By the late 6th century BC, many paintings and sculptures show hoplites and other warriors in the Aegean wearing the linothorax instead of a bronze cuirass. This could have been due to the lower price, lesser weight, or cooler material. Artists continue to show it in the Hellenistic period after the death of Alexander the Great. The Roman emperor Caracalla equipped a "Macedonian phalanx" with linen armour around 200 AD (Cassius Dio 78.7).

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Linen in the context of Belfast

Belfast (/ˈbɛlfæst/ , BEL-fast, /-fɑːst/, -⁠fahst; from Irish: Béal Feirste [bʲeːlˠ ˈfʲɛɾˠ(ə)ʃtʲə]) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel. It is the second-largest city in Ireland (after Dublin), with an estimated population of 352,390 in 2024, and its metropolitan area has a population of 671,559.

Occupied since at least the Bronze Age, it was chartered as an English settlement in 1613. The town's early growth thereafter was driven by an influx of Scottish Presbyterians. Their descendants' disaffection with Ireland's Anglican establishment contributed to the rebellion of 1798, and to the union with Great Britain in 1800—later regarded as a key to the town's industrial transformation. When granted city status in 1888, Belfast was the world's largest centre of linen manufacture, and by the 1900s her shipyards were building up to a quarter of total United Kingdom tonnage.

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Linen in the context of Natural material

  • Anatural material a substance that comes from plants, animals, or the earth, and has not been made by humans.. Minerals and the metals that can be extracted from them (without further modification) are also considered to belong into this category. Natural materials are used as building materials and clothing. Types include:
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Linen in the context of Cotton duck

Cotton duck (from Dutch: doek, meaning "cloth"), also simply duck, sometimes duck cloth or duck canvas, is a heavy, plain woven cotton fabric. Duck canvas is more tightly woven than plain canvas. There is also linen duck, which is less often used.

Cotton duck is used in a wide range of applications, from sneakers to painting canvases to tents to sandbags.

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Linen in the context of Damask

Damask (/ˈdæməsk/; Arabic: دمشق) is a woven, reversible patterned fabric. Damasks are woven by periodically reversing the action of the warp and weft threads. The pattern is most commonly created with a warp-faced satin weave and the ground with a weft-faced or sateen weave.

True damask is made entirely of silk. Over time, however, damask has become a broader term for woven fabrics with a reversible pattern, not just silks. Yarns now used to create damasks include silk, wool, linen, cotton, and synthetic fibers, but damask is best shown in cotton and linen.

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Linen in the context of Tapestry

Tapestry is a form of textile art which was traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to hang vertically on a wall (or sometimes in tents), or sometimes horizontally over a piece of furniture such as a table or bed. Some periods made smaller pieces, often long and narrow and used as borders for other textiles. Most weavers use a natural warp thread, such as wool, linen, or cotton. The weft threads are usually wool or cotton but may include silk, gold, silver, or other alternatives.

In late medieval Europe, tapestry was the grandest and most expensive medium for figurative images in two dimensions, and despite the rapid rise in importance of painting it retained this position in the eyes of many Renaissance patrons until at least the end of the 16th century, if not beyond. The European tradition continued to develop and reflect wider changes in artistic styles until the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, before being revived on a smaller scale in the 19th century.

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Linen in the context of Embroidery

Embroidery is the art of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to stitch thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across various cultures. Common stitches found in early embroidery include the chain stitch, buttonhole or blanket stitch, running stitch, satin stitch, and cross stitch. Modern embroidery continues to utilize traditional techniques, though many contemporary stitches are exclusive to machine embroidery.

Embroidery is commonly used to embellish accessories and garments is usually seen on quilts, clothing, and accessories. In addition to thread, embroidery may incorporate materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins to highlight texture and design. Today, embroidery serves both decorative and functional purposes and is utilized in fashion expression, cultural identity, and custom-made gifts.

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