Hamilton Adams products are primarily sourced in Belgium, where the history of flax farming, linen spinning and weaving dates from the 1700s. The quality of our Belgian Linens is unrivaled, based on that nation's centuries of experience and dedication to the art of turning "flowers into fabric."

Flax (species linum usitatissimum) is an annual flowering plant with a short, 100-day growing cycle.

Sowing and harvesting - Sown in may, flowering in June and harvesting in July, yellow-ripened linen is never mown, but uprooted to preserve the full potential of each fiber's length. Up until World War II, this was an exhausting hand process; today, mechanical grabbers do the tiring work.

		Retting is a curing process in which the harvested linen is stacked and exposed for several weeks to the elements of rain, dew and sunshine, enabling micro-organisms to break down the pectins that bind the long, supple fibers to one another and to the "shives" or straw-like exterior of the plant. Scutching and combing are mechanical processes that separate the desirable fibers from the shives and grade them into "tow", shorter fibers used in the production of coarse yarns, and "line", the longest fibers capable of producing finer quality linen yarns and textiles.

Spinning creates linen yarns by drafting and carding the fibers into sinuous ribbons that are plied together on looms in various weights and thicknesses. The finest yarns are "wet spun" to yield a smooth, lustrous appearance. The tow fibers are commonly "dry spun", creating less regular and napped yarns.

Weaving, bleaching and dyeing complete the finished textiles. After the yarns are fully inspected for the strength, evenness and pliancy, they are woven into fabric on power looms of tremendous speed and versatility, completely controlled by computers to ensure the utmost quality and efficiency. After weaving, each yard of fabric is inspected and all lots are quality-tested. Only then is the fabric finished by bleaching and/or dyeing. After this, linen fabrics can be further treated to resist creasing and soiling.

Finally, the superb linen textile is ready for our inventory, and yours.