Lithuanian linen, in 9 photos

Last September I drove from Vilnius to a small mill in the Lithuanian countryside that has been weaving linen since 1962. I went because I'd had three years of correspondence with their head weaver, Algimantas, and we were about to commission three new fabric weights for the spring collection.

What follows is nine photos and what I learned.

The flax fields

The mill is surrounded by flax fields they don't own. They source from a co-operative of about 30 farms within an hour's drive. Flax has to be retted (rotted, controlled) in the field for two to three weeks after harvest before the fibres release. The retting is what gives Lithuanian linen its slight irregularity that the cheaper Belgian and Chinese mills don't reproduce.

The looms

Algimantas runs three water-jet looms — slow looms, by industry standard. They weave at maybe 70% of the speed of a modern shuttle loom. The reason is the long-fibre yarn we asked them to use. Faster looms break it. Slower looms thread it.

The stonewash

After weaving, every piece of cloth is stonewashed in industrial drums with pumice stones. This is what makes our linen feel soft on first contact rather than after a year of wash cycles. It also slightly fades the cloth, which is the look we want.

What I learned

If you've never seen a linen mill operating, the thing that stays with you is the sound. A water-jet loom doesn't clatter — it whispers. The whole mill room sounds like a long exhale.

Mateo