M1729 100% Pure Linen Fabric 14S 120 GSM 135-137cm Width – for Shirts, Dresses and Suits

Item M1729 is a 100% pure linen woven fabric spun from a 14S yarn at 120 GSM and 135-137 cm wide. It is a light, breathable cloth with the dry, cool hand that has made linen a summer staple for centuries, and it is finished soft so it wears in rather than against the skin.

Linen is a bast fibre taken from the flax plant, and the character of the cloth comes from the fibre itself rather than from a heavy finish. The fibre is long, strong and low in extensibility, which gives a fabric that is strong but airy, with a natural silk-like lustre after retting and a hand that stays dry and cool against the skin. At 120 GSM this sits in the lightweight-to-midweight range — light enough for summer, with enough body to hold a line in a shirt or a loose dress.

Five properties of the fibre decide how this cloth behaves in wear, and they are the reason linen is specified for summer rather than substituted with a cheaper look-alike.

Linen has an open, hollow fibre structure that draws perspiration in and moves it out again. Moisture absorption and drying are roughly three times faster than cotton, so the cloth stays cool rather than damp. Combined with the open plain weave visible in the close-up, this is what makes the fabric comfortable in warm and humid conditions.

Flax fibre is long and fine, with a tenacity roughly seven to eight times that of cotton while remaining low in extensibility. In practice the cloth resists abrasion and tearing and is around 20% lighter than an equivalent volume of cotton — strength without weight, which is why linen outlasts and then wears in rather than wearing out.

Linen transports heat quickly, which is the source of its characteristic cool feel, and its hand is dry rather than slick. The surface keeps a soft, natural lustre that dulls gracefully instead of going flat. The fine irregular slub typical of linen is part of the fabric, not a fault, and it gives every piece its own character.

Pure linen is one of the few natural fibres that improves with use. The fabric softens with each wash, the creases settle into a relaxed drape rather than staying sharp, and the hand becomes progressively more comfortable. For a customer buying a garment that will be worn through a season and then washed many times, this changes the value calculation completely.

Linen has low elastic recovery, so it does not spring back from a crease the way a synthetic does. In practice this reads as a relaxed, lived-in drape rather than a defect, and it is the reason linen pieces are specified for summer suits, shirt-dresses and loose tailoring. It is also why we recommend a test wash before bulk cutting, so the shrinkage and the finished hand can both be confirmed.

The lightness, breathability and cool hand of pure linen make it a natural choice for warm-weather and layering programmes.

A 14S linen at 120 GSM is a classic shirt cloth. It is light enough to move with the body and breathable enough to wear through a summer day, while the natural lustre gives it a dressed-up quality a plain cotton shirting does not have.

The fluid fall and the way the cloth settles into soft creases suit full skirts, loose dresses and relaxed tailoring. The 135-137 cm width gives efficient marker making for long panels and generous scarf blanks.

Tops, fashion garments and casual suits are the core of a linen programme, and the same cloth is widely used for home textiles, lining and supporting fabrics where a light, breathable hand is wanted.

180 stock shades are available for immediate dispatch, covering neutrals, pastels and deeper tones. Custom solid dyeing to Pantone TCX is available for development orders.

Hand samples and cutting samples are supplied before bulk production, either from stock greige or from a lab dip matched to your shade. Samples are cut so the open, dry hand of a 120 GSM cloth can be judged properly — at this weight the fabric behaves differently in the hand than a standard swatch allows.

Development runs around three points: the fibre and yarn count, the shade matched to Pantone TCX, and the weight confirmed against the end use. Linen is a bast fibre and can feel different after washing, so we confirm the shrinkage and the hand change on a washed sample before bulk is scheduled. Full-width greige and finished samples, small trial orders and custom development are supported for new customers.