Linen Bolts
These antique hand woven linens are some of the highest quality, durable and beautiful fabric available for upholstery, curtaining, bedding, and more!
A Brief History of Linen Bolts
My collection of linen bolts ranges in age from the late 18th to the early 20th century. Linen bolts like those in my collection were painstakingly handwoven into long lengths. The weavers of yesterday would spend their evenings hand weaving these amazing rolls of linen. It took the average person one night to weave 60 centimeters (24 inches) of this lovely fabric. This linen would then be used to make grain sacks and occasionally towels, napkins and bedding. They also had other utilitarian uses such as sheeting and clothing. The stripes acted as the signature of the farmer, so when they brought their grain to the mill their sacks could be distinguished from the grain sacks of everyone else. This is why you will find such a wide variety of stripes! The plain sacks would have been either stamped or monogrammed for the same purpose.
Qualities of These Textiles
As with most of our textiles, each of these linen bolts is rather unique! Each bolt is made from either pure hemp or flax, or of a linen and cotton mix or blend. The material and the weight and the retting process of the yarn determine the overall tone and texture of the linen, which can vary from very coarse to smooth. The texture of these antique linens softens with use, and most are machine washable and tumble dry. The bolts blended with cotton tend to be the softest and smoothest bolts, but there are always exceptions! The tones vary from wonderful dark caramels and grays to cream and oatmeal tones, and of course the stripes come in every color of the rainbow! The bolts in my collection range in size from around 2 to 20 yards, but occasionally I find a rare longer bolt! They tend to be between 19 and 26 inches wide, 21 inches being the average. I have so many wonderful bolts to choose from!
Linen bolts used as wallpaper at The Collected Home.
Uses
These linen bolts offer a bounty of opportunities for use! They are wonderful for upholstery, towels, napkins, table runners, wallpaper, window treatments, dog beds, pillows, lampshades, bedding, bathmats or even for display. This fabric is extremely durable and sturdy… these bolts were really built to last! Most are machine washable and tumble dry!