A hundred years of Ukrainian linen

The fabric is approximately one hundred years old. It is handwoven linen, sourced as deadstock from Ukraine, where narrow-loom weaving of this kind was a domestic and folk practice for generations. It was woven, never used, stored, and survived. What we have is what was left, and there is no more of it coming.

We have been cutting into it for years. It became a run of pillows, which are now gone. What remains of the fabric has become something else.

In this article

• What is deadstock linen, and why does the age matter?
• The Ukrainian narrow-loom tradition
• What the fabric became
• Frequently asked questions

What is deadstock linen, and why does the age matter?

Deadstock fabric is fabric that was produced but never used for its intended purpose. It sits in warehouses, in attics, in the back rooms of old mills, sometimes for decades, until someone finds it. This linen is Ukrainian deadstock from approximately the early twentieth century. It was woven for use and then, for whatever reason, never cut or sewn. It spent a hundred years as fabric rather than as an object.

That waiting changes what it is. The linen has been stable for a century rather than subjected to repeated washing and wear. The fibres have settled. The result is a material with a character that new linen, however well made, cannot replicate: a particular weight, a particular hand, a surface that has depth without being worn out.

There is also the matter of how linen was made a hundred years ago. Flax processing in the early twentieth century used methods that have since been abandoned or standardised out of existence. The resulting cloth is different in density and structure from what is produced now, even by people working traditionally today.

The Ukrainian narrow-loom tradition

The fabric was woven on small, narrow looms of the kind used for Ukrainian folk textiles: household linens, embroidered blouses, and the decorative cloths that appeared at important occasions. Narrow-loom weaving produces fabric in strips that must be joined to reach wider widths, which is why so much Ukrainian folk textile shows a visible seam at the centre. The strips are not a defect. They are evidence of the loom.

Ukrainian folk textiles were among the most technically refined domestic fabrics in Eastern Europe. The tradition of fine linen weaving in the region goes back centuries, and the skill involved in producing an even, tight weave on a narrow loom with hand-spun thread is considerable. What was woven for everyday use was still made with care, because the objects that furnished a home were not disposable.

What the fabric became

Tanya cut and sewed the pillows here at the shop. That run has sold through, and because the fabric is finite, it will not be repeated in the same form.

What was left over was not enough for another pillow and too good to discard. The offcuts became the Gathered Fragments wall hangings: pieces assembled from the remnants and mounted on a solid brass rod. They are made in-house from the same hundred-year-old cloth, and because they are built from whatever fragments remained, no two are alike in the way that two pillows cut from the same bolt might have been.

There is a logic to this that we like. The fabric was woven, then waited a century, then became one thing, and the parts of it that were left became another. Very little of it has been wasted.

Frequently asked questions

What is antique linen?

Antique linen is linen fabric old enough to have been produced under conditions and with methods that no longer exist. The cloth we work with is deadstock Ukrainian linen from approximately a hundred years ago, woven on narrow looms for folk textiles and household use.

What is deadstock fabric?

Deadstock fabric is fabric that was produced but never used for its intended purpose. It survives in storage until it is found and repurposed. Ours was woven in Ukraine in the early twentieth century and stored for roughly a century. It is finite: when it is used, it is gone.

What are the Gathered Fragments wall hangings made from?

They are made in-house from leftover fabric from our antique linen pillow collections, assembled and mounted on a solid brass rod. Because they are built from remaining fragments, no two are exactly alike.

Are the antique linen pillows still available?

No. That run has sold through and is not being repeated, because the fabric it was cut from is finite. The wall hangings are made from what was left of the same cloth.

Where can I see the antique linen work in person?

At the shop, 2090 Dundas Street West in Roncesvalles, Toronto. We are open Wednesday to Friday from 12 to 5, Saturday from 11 to 5, and Sunday from 12 to 4.