Linen: Why it is a Must for the Summer
- Gabriela Monroy
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 16 hours ago
At St Genève we love natural textiles, and linen is no exception. Its rustic and refined properties, mixed with its ancient tradition and sustainable characteristics, make us fall in love with it every day. The relaxed look of linen, now a trend of luxurious bedding, puts it at the forefront of natural textiles.
Beyond its aesthetics, there is a story as long as mankind. Linen is the oldest fabric that humans have used (or at least that there remain traces of), first used 36,000 years ago in the Dzudzuana Cave in Georgia. Since then it has accompanied us through the ages, from the Egyptian bandages of mummified pharaohs, to the tunics in Greece and Rome, to the Victorian summer garments. Sails for masts, canvases for artists, tents during the American Civil War. All made from linen. It’s astonishing how many achievements humanity has accomplished with the help of the Linum usitatissimum.
Over the past three centuries, there has been a decrease in the use of linen, given the rise of cotton during the Industrial Revolution and later the rise of petroleum-based textiles during the second half of the twentieth century. Making these textiles easier was to produce for less input, leaving linen behind as a more costly alternative.
Given its undisputed versatility linen held and catered to specific needs where cotton, rayon or any other fabric could not suffice: breathability and moisture-wicking. All of its properties come from the unique qualities of its plant, the flax.
Flax is such a versatile plant that grows in less than 100 days, that we can use its stem for fabrics or its seeds for oil, while its flower only lasts for one day. Adaptable to an array of climates, the popularity of this plant has transcended borders and now it can be located in almost all parts of the world. The millennia gone into the domestication of this plant have made it resilient, it can use little to no pesticides, has low water consumption and natural methods of breaking it down can be used to harvest its fibers.
Facts about the flax plant.
Flax plants are cultivated for one of two purposes: for their oil seeds or for their fibers. The plant cannot be used for both purposes.
For fiber production, the plant needs to be uprooted before it completely dries out. For oil extraction, the seeds mature only after the plant has completely grown and dried. Each process requires different machinery and treatment.
Raw or unripe flax seeds can be toxic to humans. Flax seeds contain cyanogenic glycosides – in high quantities, they can be harmful.
Canada plants flax for oil production.
The long stems grow up to 60-90 cm. Inside the stem live the fibers that will become the linen.
Linen’s moisture-wicking property comes from the plant’s ability to distribute water. Absorbing water from the roots, and pushing it upwards to evaporate it through the leaves, makes the fibers capable of distributing water more effectively than any other natural fabric.
Why linen for bedding?
It’s a fact that when we sleep we can lose close to a pound of water. This loss of water through perspiration can alter your microclimate, making sleep more or less profound. Linen helps regulate your microclimate and disperse the water vapour, breaking the warmth accumulation cycle, and keeping you just warm enough to stay asleep longer and deeper. These moisture-wicking properties favour those who sleep hot, as sweat and heat are dissipated more easily than with cotton or other fabrics.
Stay cool this summer with linen
Here are St Genève's current linens made of 100% Italian linen to keep you cool and comfortable during the warmer months.
We wish you cool nights this summer. If you are interested in the perfect duvet for this summer here is a blog made for you. We recommend pairing your linen sheets with wool for the summer. If you want to find out why you can continue reading in this deep dive on wool.
Aamiri77 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40321750
Agency, Canadian Food Inspection. “The Biology of Linum Usitatissimum L. (Flax).” Inspection.canada.ca, 5 Mar. 2012, inspection.canada.ca/en/plant-varieties/plants-novel-traits/applicants/directive-94-08/biology-documents/linum-usitatissimum-flax.
Brandt, Wilhelm; Gürke, M.; Köhler, F. E.; Pabst, G.; Schellenberg, G.; Vogtherr, Max. - https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/pageimage/303594, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44484717
“Flax - Linum Usitatissimum (Care, Characteristics, Flower, Images, Toxic).” PictureThis, 2025, www.picturethisai.com/wiki/Linum_usitatissimum.html. Accessed 28 May 2025.
“Linum Usitatissimum (Common Flax).” Gardenia.net, 2021, www.gardenia.net/plant/linum-lusitatissimum.
Opioła Jerzy, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons