Cotton Fabric

5 Ways To Give Cotton a Linen Twist: Indoweave Tips

The first thought in your mind after reading this headline will be why make cotton, linen? I would say why not? Let me explain this by giving you an example of an online avatar. You get to choose your hair, your face features, and your dress and in some cases, your mighty powers. So what if we could choose the affordability of cotton and luxury look of linen? Continuous innovation in yarn spinning, weaving and designing technology has made it possible to choose both at the same time. You must not replace the beauty of linen with cotton but yes you can experiment with various looks, textures and weaves in cotton with a linen twist.

Linen like cotton is extensively used in apparel wear and home furnishing fabrics. The beauty of linen lies in its slub and that can be achieved, thick and thin slubs, in cotton too. Cotton in fact is the most popular linen look fabric material. In lighter shades, especially white, the slubs look beautiful. 

Three reasons you must try 100% cotton in a linen look –

1. Wrinkle resistant  –  since it is 100% cotton, it tends to wrinkle less as compared to linen. So you can have the linen look and also worry less about the fabric becoming crumpled. 

2. Sheen – giving cotton a slub look also gives it sheen. The slight luster looks better in dyed fabric. 

3. Soft hand feel – needless to say, cotton has a soft and comfortable hand feel. This is an inherent wonder feature of cotton. Linen requires some processing for bringing a very soft hand feel. Whereas in cotton, it is already present.

Linen is a top pick not only for apparel wear but also for home furnishing.  Printing, dyeing, embroidery, and many other value additions are already available in the market as far is linen fabrics are concerned. But using linen-look fabrics in 100% cotton can be a good variation in look, hand feel and designs.  We have picked different bases in linen-look cotton fabrics to give you a visual idea of various slub looks available. These will help your creative juices to flow and start thinking of how you can start using these fabrics for your upholstery. 

  1. Sofa, Armchair and Dining chairs oxford weave

Sofa and chair covers are ought to be breathable and comfortable. Try thin slub look as it can be a good base for embroidery. You may also check the weave before deciding on the fabric. Slubs in an oxford weave are a must try.  Since sofas are high traffic spaces, we would recommend opting in for dark colour fabrics with light embroidery.  


2. Cushion covers 

Scatter pillows, throw pillows or small cushions bring in a lot of variety in a living space. Cushions are comfy and heavily used items in the living area. And that is exactly why cushion fabrics also need to be snuggly. Thick slub cotton fabrics with combination of stitches, trims and accessories will make the cushion covers feel and look fabulous. These fabrics can also be a great base for digital and tie and dye printing. You can mix and match with plains and in natural colours as the knots and knobbles in thick slubs give a beautiful textured look.


3. Dhurries and Rugs

Most popular item in bedrooms and living areas are by far rugs and dhurries. Originally the designs on rugs were inspired by the local culture and common motifs popular as artist’s creative expression.  Cotton or khadi dhurries are sought after home furnishing items. Imagine having those thick knots and textured look in a linen look-a-like cotton dhurri. Wouldn’t it simply complement the whole look of the furniture? Try out the reversible slub fabrics which look rich in plain itself. You can go ahead with block printing too if you want to add some colour to the living space. 


4. Table Linen

Using pure linen to accompany your tableware is very well known. Now you can also try a solid look with thin vertical and horizontal space slubs in pure cotton. The fabric has a soft hand feel and solid colours bring out the slubs look. Well designed edges are enough to make your table linen stand out.


5. Throws

Enough of slubs we have spoken about above. Well linen is not just all about slubs after all. You can get that linen look in cotton even with neatly designed dobbies. Dobby’s throws amplify the aesthetics and cotton fabric provides the much needed comfort and soft touch. With good dyeing techniques, the dobby resembles those slub knots and gives a slight luster. In plain natural colour too, this effect will be visible, only a bit lesser. Try out some diamonds next time for throws!

So much can be done with cotton in weaving, dyeing, and printing. Truly a universal fabric! Let us know how you are using linen-like fabrics in pure cotton.