Linen (Ireland)

كَتّان \ flax: a plant that has blue flowers and oily seeds, whose stem is used for making cloth (linen). linen: cloth made from flax, esp. in Ireland.

Linen fabric made in Southern Ireland about 1760 and consumed locally. It was from 8 to 12-in. wide, plain weave, yams always the coarse rough type spun in the district.

Pure linen fabrics made in. Ireland, bleached, of fine quality and used for dresses, shirts, etc.

A coarse and rough woven flax cloth, made in Ireland and used for aprons when not bleached.

Principally made in Ireland from cotton warp and flax weft in many qualities, plain weave and fine yarns. Used for both dress and underwear purposes.

The number of warp threads per inch or other unit of measurement is termed the " sett." There are at least 14 different sett systems and each is denoted by the locality in which it is used. Bradford System - Number of beers of 40 threads in 36-in. Thus 72 sett Bradford = 72 X 40: 36 = 80 ends per inch. Leeds - Number of porters of 38 threads in 9-in. Thus 12 porter sett = 12 X 38: 9 = 5.06 threads per inch. Huddersfield - Dents per inch X ends per dent, thus 16's reed 3's means that there are 16 dents per inch with 3 threads per dent = 48 threads per inch. Dewsbury - Number of beers of 38 threads in 90-in. Bolton - Number of beers of 40 threads each in 24¹/₄-in. Manchester - Number of splits of two threads each in 36-in. Stockport - Number of dents of two threads in 2-in. The Stockport sett is the most convenient as the reed count or sett indicates directly the number of threads per inch in the reed without calculation providing the reeding is uniformly two ends per dent. Blackburn - Number of beers of 40 threads in 45-in. Glasgow - Number of dents two threads per dent in 37-in. Scotch Tweed - Number of porters of 40 threads in 37-in. Linen (Ireland) - Number of dents of two threads each in 40-in. These are given as 12⁰⁰, 14⁰⁰, etc. Sett 12⁰⁰ for example has 1,200 X 2: 40 = 60 threads per inch. Silk - Number of dents in 36-in., thus 1,200/4 silk sett = 1,200 X 4 - 36 = 133 ends per inch.

A bleached cotton cloth of plain weave, about 70 ends and 66 picks per inch, 32's T., 22's W., made in North Ireland. Finished rather stiffly with a starch and glazed. Originally the term indicated a pure linen cloth woven in Ireland, but this has died out, and the term " pure linen " is used instead when a fabric is all linen.

The following terms as given under the authority of the Ministry of Supply, are reprinted here with their permission. Flax Plants - of the species Linum usitatissimum cultivated for the production of seed or fibre or both. Flax, Fibre (Fibre Flax) - The variety of flax cultivated mainly for fibre production. Flax, fibre strands, or bundles - The aggregates, about 32 in number, of ultimate fibres which run from the level of the seed leaves up to the top of the branches of the flax straw. They are each composed of large numbers of ultimate fibres overlapping each other. Flax Fibres, Ultimate - The component cellulose fibres, about 1¹/₄-in. long by 1/1000-in. wide, making up the fibre system of the flax straw. Flax, Linseed - The variety of flax cultivated mainly for seed production. Flax Seed - The term usually applied to the seed of fibre flax. A bag of flax seed in Ireland is sometimes 3¹/₂ bushels, but it is more usual now to put up seed in 1-cwt. bags as in England. A peck of flax seed weighs approximately 14-lb. Flax Seed, Blue Blossom - Seed of a blue-flowered variety of flax. Flax Seed, Commercial - Flax seed usually named after its country or place of origin, but without a pedigree and without guarantee as to colour of flower. Flax Seed Germination - That percentage by number of a sample of seed which shows visible signs of growth within a stated time when kept under standard conditions of temperature and moisture. Flax Seed Germination, Standard - An arbitrary standard of germination of 90 per cent or more, incorporated in the flax growers' contract of the Ministry of Supply. Flax Seed, Lital - The generic name given to pedigree flax seed of several strains bred by the Linen Industry Research Association, Lambeg, and derived from those initials. Flax Seed, Minty - Seed which has been attacked by species of mites, usually owing to it being cracked and too damp. It is characterised by a dusty appearance and a distinct musty sweet smell. Flax Seed, Mixed Blue Blossom - A term used in Northern Ireland for seed from two or more blue-blossomed pedigree flaxes mixed together. Flax Seed, Pedigree - Seed of a strain of flax which has been improved by some recognised system of flax breeding and originally derived from the bulking of the seed from a single flax plant. Flax Seed, Plimmed - A local term for seed which has swollen through excess of moisture. Flax Seed Purity - That percentage by weight of seed taken from bulk which consists of whole flax seeds. Flax Seed Purity, Standard - An arbitrary standard of purity of 96 per cent or more with a weed seed content of 0.25 per cent or less, incorporated in the flax growers' contract of the Ministry of Supply. Flax Seed, Sowing - Seed of a germination and, purity making it acceptable for sowing. Flax Seed, Stormont - The generic name given to pedigree flax seed produced by the Plant Breeding Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Northern Ireland. Flax Seed, Weight per 1,000 - The weight in grams of 1,000 flax seeds picked at random from a sample. It is used as a measure of the plumpness and general quality of seed. Flax Seed, White Blossom - Seed of a white-flowered variety of flax. Flax Variety, Cross breeding - A method of flax breeding, based on fertilising the seed of a single plant of one strain by the pollen of a single plant of another strain and the study of the progeny. Flax Variety, Single Plant Selection - A method of flax breeding based on the study of a single self-fertilised flax plant and its progeny in subsequent generations. Linseed - The seed of linseed flax: and also of fibre flax when it is used for the same purposes as linseed. Moisture Content - To conform with the International ruling for seed testing the moisture content of flax seed should be expressed as a percentage of the original weight; the moisture content of other flax products being expressed as a percentage of the dry weight. Nomersan - A proprietary powder for dusting on flax seed as a prevention of certain seed-bome fungal diseases. Pickle - The term often applied to a single flax seed, i.e., a sample of seed is said to he of a large pickle or a small pickle. Weed Seed - The seed of any other species of plant present in a sample of flax seed.

Linen fabrics made at Ballymena, Ireland, and used for linen shirts. They were originally woven on hand looms. Plain weave.

كَتّان \ flax: a plant that has blue flowers and oily seeds, whose stem is used for making cloth (linen). linen: cloth made from flax, esp. in Ireland.

كَتّان \ flax: a plant that has blue flowers and oily seeds, whose stem is used for making cloth (linen). linen: cloth made from flax, esp. in Ireland.

A kind of seaweed, or algas (Chrondrus Crispus) found on the coasts of Ireland. It is first bleached and dried by exposure to the atmosphere and in this state is sold. When boiled it forms a highly gelatinous substance, like isinglass. The early Irish linen manufacturers used large quantities for flax dressing. It was also used, when boiled with milk, as a food, making a nourishing jelly. Also known as Ireland moss and Irish moss.

Linen fabrics formerly made in Northern Ireland, plain weave, 27-in. in width, and were half-bleached in lime. They were sold in this state without any kind of finish.

Linen fabrics of fine quality, formerly made in Northern Ireland. Plain weave 27 in and 32 in wide. The yarn was fully half bleached.

A term used in Ireland for the diamond patterned all-linen diaper cloths woven on 8 shafts in twill weave.

A trade term for fine damask linen tablecloths in Ireland and Scotland.

A linen fabric, formerly made in Northern Ireland; plain weave from coarse yams and sold in the loom state for linings.

A fine white embroidery on linen cambric and connected with lace stitches. Originally started by nuns in Europe, later Saxony adopted it and then France about 1750, afterwards the art was taken up in Scotland and Ireland. Both fine cotton and silks were used.

A variety of plain weave linen fabrics formerly made at Hillsborough, Ireland. The yam was well boiled in potash and bleached before being woven.