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In the nineteen sixties and seventies many of us were persuaded to buy nylon shirts instead of the usual linen or cotton. The future was manmade fibres and nylon was not the only invention there were others as well. The selling pitch was that these fibres did not need ironing and were cheaper to buy. One minor member of the extended Royal family took up wearing shirts made of nylon with a very odd look as it fastened at the back of the neck and gave the appearance of the idiot being a member of the Clergy. When the first hot summer came we all realised the problem with manmade fibre; it did not breathe and trapped air caused bad body odour as well as a very uncomfortable heat rash. Yet again the natural products win with cotton and linen along with wool still the very best for comfortable casual and formal wear. When you think about it, pure one hundred per cent wool can be used to create a fluffy warm jumper, a pair of socks and a smart smooth suit. For tens of thousands of years humans have made their clothes from these natural products and still it is a fact that leather makes the best boots and shoes. The cotton industry was at the fore of the Industrial Revolution in Britain. Every schoolchild is told about the importance of the Spinning Jenny and how this machine speeded up cotton production mainly in the very cheap labour market towns and villages of Northern England. Northern Ireland also had a thriving cotton business but it has also been heavily involved with linen production. The raw material of flax grows well in this part of the world and Ulster weavers have a long history of producing all sorts of linen goods. This tradition continues today with the company in Ulster producing tea-towels, oven gloves, place mats and other linen items designed for use in the kitchen and on the table top. The linen or cotton items both take dyes very well and remain colourfast as long as they are washed at a temperature in accordance with the instructions. In very hot weather linen is a cooler option to cotton shirts and sometimes a mixture of the two natural products are used together. Oddly enough the cash note in your wallet is made almost entirely from linen and cotton. Many people just assume a banknote is made from paper and it is true that it is often referred to as paper money but linen and cotton mix makes a stronger note than paper. It also is a better material for security watermarks and sophisticated holograms to be incorporated. One of the other differences between linen and cotton is that linen is generally harder to weave. Unlike cotton where strands knit together quite easily, linen does not bind so well. This is why we get the word line from linen and also the reason why it is easier to tear into strips. For all your Ulster weavers products please go to http://www.smithsofloughton.com/
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