Merchant & Mills Cloth by the Metre ~ Milk Linen

$60/per metre, sold in 0.5m increments.

European laundered linen, tumbled at the mill for softness. Off white, more warm than Virgin white.

The 185 dressweight linen is our go to linen for all dress making and is what we use for many of our samples. It is a great match for all of our patterns, dresses, tops and loose fitting trousers. 

This linen also works well for lighter curtains for a casual less refined look. Carolyn wears the Etta dress in Milk 185. 

It is produced in small batches in Eastern Europe where there is a strong heritage of spinning and weaving linen fabric. Our 185 linen collection is woven in a mill run on green energy and is Oeko-Tex certified.

• 143cm wide. 
• 5.5oz, 185gsm.
• 100% linen.
• Wash at 30 degrees with a non bio detergent. Do not tumble. Shake out and dry flat. Linen will always seize up after washing but as soon as you start to use/wear it the fibres relax again.
• If you are using this linen for curtains we recommend using a lining to prevent fading.
• Never dry linen in direct sunlight as the colour can bleach and fade.
• This linen is Oeko-Tex certified.
• Member of the European Flax-Linen and Hemp alliance.
• The dyes used on this cloth are GOTS certified.

It is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, hypo allergenic and thermoregulating, it will also absorb up 20% moisture before feeling damp.

As the linen fibres have low elasticity (which causes it to crease) it will wear in any areas that are repeatedly folded in the same place for a long time, however it does have much better abrasion resistance than say cotton.

Flax is a strong plant best grown in northern Europe. It needs little or no fertilisers and due to the local climate, little extra water. It doesn’t really require many pesticides either as it can grow in poor quality soil. The Advisory Commission Report to the European Parliament stated that flax cultivation has positive effects on eco-system diversity as it allows for an “environmental pause”. One hectare of flax can retain 3.7 tonnes of CO2. Every part of the plant is used, what isn’t used to produce linen can be used to make linseed oil, paper, cattle feed or even soap.

Linen is therefore almost naturally organic. It is completely biodegradable, recyclable and due to its natural absorbency, it requires less dye than cotton. Linen therefore scores high on the ecological chart.