Texperts, representing Linen yarn giant Kingdom from China, in collaboration with the company has come up with an innovative yarn, Linocel which is an intimate blend of refined linen with Lyocel fibres, ideal for knitted garments. Manish Mehta, Director, Texperts India talks about the properties of Linocel along with fundamental differences in linen knitting as compared to cotton knitting…

As recently as ten years ago the knitting of pure linen started in Portugal. Initially it was too difficult to knit linen due to its harshness but slowly the manufacturers developed ways to knit and process the defect-free fabric. But it was so expensive that only high-end brands could sell the linen knit garments in the west. With the increasing cost of production in Portugal and increasing demand from developed countries linen knitting found its way to China.

With the cost of production in China increasing fast and the demand from popular garment retailers and discounters worldwide growing, the brands are coming to Bangladesh and India for these luxurious linen knit garments. Knitting linen yarns on circular or flat knitting machines is much easier than the popular notion about difficulties in linen knitting. But at the same time it is much different from cotton yarn knitting in many ways. The fundamental differences in linen knitting as compared to cotton knitting can be classified as under:

Yarn count – The selection of right count according to required GSM is crucial and very different from general concept of cotton knitting. Since linen yarn is full of thick, thin and big size Neps so the knitting is always much looser than cotton knitting. Hence for a certain GSM the yarn count required of linen is much coarser than that of cotton for that GSM. For example the count for 150 GSM cotton s/j fabrics is 30s whereas for linen it is 21s (36Nm).

Knitting parameters – The gauge and stitch length for linen are always coarser and wider to accommodate the thick places of linen yarns during loop formation. For example, for 145-150 GSM finished fabric of cotton the gauge is 24gg and s/l is around 2.65-2.7mm, whereas for linen knits the gauge for the same is 16, 18 or 20gg and s/l of 3.55-3.65mm.

Dimensional stability – Linen knits are essentially loose knit fabrics so the concept of dimensional stability of linen knit garments is entirely a different paradigm. Of course the dimensional stability of linen knits also depends on selection of yarn count, gauge and stitch length at knitting and then dyeing/finishing according to finish GSM like cotton knits but the requirement of dimensional stability in linen knits depends upon the garment style, wash care instruction, etc. The accepted norm for shrinkage for linen knits worldwide varies from 5% to 12% and for skew it is 3% to 5% from customer to customer depending upon style and wash care label. Many brands prefer to go for panel wash to bring down the residual shrinkage to 0% level.

There are many ways to control the dimensional stability in knitting and finishing processes.

Linen knit garments are very comfortable due to high breathability, skin friendliness and have high fashion quotient due to exceptional colour brilliance, fabric surface and drape. But still the limitations of availability and high price of yarn make the cost of these garments affordable for fewer people. Moreover, the residual harshness of linen knits further limits the acceptance amongst women and children.

Linen gets intimate with Lyocel to create Linocel which is so close to linen in fabric and garment forms that it is almost impossible to differentiate between them on the basis of appearance and drape. Linocel is a spun yarn made out of intimate blend of refined bleached/natural linen fibre with Lyocel (regenerated fibre made from wood pulp of eucalyptus trees). The linen content is essentially 40% or more in Linocel yarns.

The main difference between Linocel and linen yarns is that the yarn strength of Linocel is about 60% of linen but elongation of Linocel yarns is 300% more than that of linen. The fabric knitted out of Linocel is softer than that of linen; has excellent drape and looks exactly like pure linen due to identical yarn surface, lower strength and high elongation of Linocel yarns as compared to linen.

Knitting parameters for Linocel are also just like pure linen but it is much easier to produce Linocel knit fabric than linen knits due to softness of yarn.

Especially for very light GSMs like 100-120 the suitable yarn count of linen is at least 28s (48Nm). The price for linen yarn in 48Nm is US $ 22.50 per kg whereas for Linocel it is just US $ 10.00 per kg. Linocel fabrics have all the properties of linen fabrics with some additional advantages but when it comes to price, Linocel beats linen with a humongous margin.

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