Linen is a natural fiber made from the stalk of a flax plant and known to have been used for thousands of years. Flax is a native plant to the region extending from Eastern Europe to India and it was the first fiber used to weave fabric dating back over 8,000 years. In antiquity, it symbolized divine purity, and was considered a sacred fabric with properties that ensured the wellbeing of the wearer.
Flax is arguably the most eco-friendly of all plants utilized to make natural fibers. Very few chemical pesticides and fertilizers are required in the cultivation of flax coming very close to organic standards without an actual effort. Moreover, flax cultivation does not require much water and, in most cases, the plant’s irrigation needs are satisfied by natural rainfall alone.
The flax plant grows a single stem of between one and three millimeters in diameter with eighty to one hundred leaves.Linen is especially sustainable because the entire flax plant is utilized when transformed into a fiber and therefore resulting in minimum waste. Linen has exceptional properties making it an excellent material choice for rug making. Linen is the strongest of the vegetable fibers and has two to three times the strength of cotton. As a result, it is hard-wearing, extremely durable, and linen fibers have anti-static and hypoallergenic properties too.
West12 linen yarns are exclusively sourced and processed in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy from a certified supplier whose production is EUROPEAN FLAX® and MASTERS OF LINEN® approved. These certifications guarantee not only the traceability of our raw materials but also compliance of the production process used to transform flax fibers into linen yarns.
Before being shipped to our weaving facilities in Sardinia or Piedmont, the yarn preparation requires one last step: spinning. This final stage allows the linen yarn to achieve the right thickness, compactness and torsion making it suitable for our artisans to start weaving. Our Linen stock includes 16 signature colors and through our bespoke program clients and interior decorators can choose to personalize their West12 linen rug according to colors of their choice.