Linen Blend
I’m a huge fan of linen.
But linen is basically hay.
Super soft, super thin hay you cover your body with instead of feeding to horses.
Because it's soft hay (it's actually flax, but go with me...), it has a few special properties:
it breathes really well
(more space between the fibers)
it’s all natural
(YAY, sustainable, biodegradable clothing!)
and it’s expensive
(not like silk expensive, but more expensive than cotton).
It also doesn’t stand up well to the heat of a dryer. Make sure you wash anything with linen on low heat, or lay it flat to dry. Heat will break down the fiber over time and it won’t retain it’s shape.
Hence, linen blends….
Linen blends aren’t necessarily something to shy away from. I know everyone is all about their 100%, picked by hand, special organic linen... but adding cotton or a small percentage of a synthetic material will actually help your linen clothing retain it’s shape, withstand the wear and tear of a washing machine, and it be more wrinkle resistant.
Because linen (like hay) is basically a twig, when it bends, it stays in that shape till you relax the fiber with heat.
I used to have these 100% Belgian Linen sheets on my bed that felt amazing to sleep on, but one wash and they crumpled up at every corner. Every time I washed them I had to steam them right after so the pillow cases and edges looked crisp. BIG pain.
Love linen. Love linen blends more.
This sweater is a linen-acrylic blend to help the loose knit retain it’s shape. The shorts are 100% linen. I paired them with cream boat shoes (my go-to’s all Summer long), a green backpack for a hit of color.
The concave rose gold watch is from Klasse14. It has a really cool design with a sunken in face and bent hands. And if you use code ‘themodernotter’ on their site, you can grab an extra discount! Direct link: here.
What are your thoughts on linen and linen blends? Let me know in the comments below!
Zara sweater and shorts / Sebago boat shoes / Persol sunglasses / MRKT backpack (on sale!) / Klasse14 watch