What Is Hanky-Weight Linen?

Definition and Manufacture

• Handkerchief linen is a lightweight fabric woven from flax. It has a tight weave and a smooth surface without knots or bumps. This is due to the type of flax fibers, known as staple, used in its production. Hackling, or combing, separates the long and short fibers of the flax stem. Long staple, called line, is spun into the smooth flaxen yarn used for handkerchief linen.

Characteristics

• Handkerchief linen is a crisp fabric that wrinkles and ravels easily. It's manufactured in varying degrees of sheerness. Sewers working with handkerchief linen find it lacks elasticity, so it's hard to ease -- a technique in which one piece of fabric is stretched to fit another piece of fabric when stitching them together. Handkerchief linen can be damaged easily by such products as erasable pens, chalk and wax, so sewers have to be careful when marking the fabric for cutting.

Uses

• Handkerchief linen appears in the fashion world in women's dresses, suits, blouses, nightgowns and some styles of lingerie, such as chemises. Men's shirts and upscale children's garments often are available in handkerchief linen as well. Sewers also use handkerchief linen for clothing items that are reversible or don't require lining, and as interfacing for very delicate, sheer fabrics.

Similar Fabrics

• There are many fine fabrics similar to handkerchief linen. These include lawn, a light combed linen or cotton cloth that is often synonymous with handkerchief linen; batiste, a medium-weight cotton fabric with a plain weave; organdy, a sheer, stiff cotton material; and voile, which is crisp and cotton-like. All of these fabrics are used frequently in blouses and dresses.