Weights & sizes | Linenlumas

The four weights

Grams per square metre is how much flax there is in a given area of cloth. For linen it is the single figure that predicts drape, warmth, transparency and how long the piece will last. We weave four.

Weight	Character	Used for	Not for
130 gsm	Sheer, cool, softens fastest	Summer shirts, the lounge set, sheer and café curtains	Anything you want opaque in white
165 gsm	Drapes, breathes, the all-rounder	All bedding, most clothing, the bread bag	Table linen — it slides
190 gsm	Sits flat, takes heat and stains	Tablecloths, runners, napkins, aprons, tea towels	Bedding — too warm above 20 °C
240 gsm	Dense, dims light, insulates	Dense curtain panels, placemats	Blackout — it still needs a lining

Thread count is not a linen number

Thread count was invented for fine cotton. Flax yarn is thicker and less even, so a linen “thread count” is low by nature and tells you nothing useful. If a linen product is sold on thread count, the seller is borrowing a cotton argument. Ask for the gsm.

The wash count

Raw linen off the loom is stiff, and it shrinks 3 to 5% the first time it meets water. We launder every piece before it ships, and the number of washes is on the product page.

Pieces	Washes before dispatch	Why
Bedding, lounge set	3	You sleep in it on night one. It should be soft on night one.
Table, kitchen, clothing	2	Takes out the stiffness and almost all the shrinkage. A shirt still crisps up slightly for its first week.
Curtains	1	Deliberately. A panel is cut 3 cm over the stated drop so you can hem it after your own first wash, once it has finished moving.

After our washes, expect a further 1 to 2% in your first hot wash. All the measurements below are taken after our laundering, not before.

How to read a linen label

“100% linen” is the only composition we sell. “Linen blend” without a percentage usually means mostly something else.
“European flax” means the plant was grown in France, Belgium or the Netherlands, where the climate suits long-fibre flax. It says nothing about where it was spun or woven, which is why we tell you both.
“Stonewashed” and “pre-washed” are the same claim with different words. What matters is how many times — ask.
“Yarn-dyed” means the colour went in before weaving and runs through the fibre. “Piece-dyed” means the finished cloth was dyed, which is cheaper and gives a shade that varies a little between batches. Our slate and graphite are yarn-dyed; oat is undyed; the rest are piece-dyed.

Bedding

Size	Duvet cover	Fitted sheet	Fits a duvet of
Single	140 × 200 cm	90 × 200 cm, 38 cm wall	140 × 200 cm
Double	200 × 200 cm	140 × 200 cm, 38 cm wall	200 × 200 cm
King	240 × 220 cm	180 × 200 cm, 38 cm wall	240 × 220 cm

Pillowcases are 50 × 75 cm with a 20 cm envelope. Buy for the duvet you own, not the bed it lies on.

Clothing, laid flat

All garments are one cut whoever wears them. Measure a shirt you like laid flat and compare.

Size	Shirt chest	Shirt length	Trouser hip	Inseam	Dress bust
XS	52 cm	70 cm	50 cm	72 cm	44 cm
S	56 cm	72 cm	54 cm	73 cm	48 cm
M	60 cm	74 cm	58 cm	74 cm	52 cm
L	64 cm	76 cm	62 cm	75 cm	56 cm
XL	68 cm	78 cm	66 cm	76 cm	60 cm

The trousers have an elasticated back and the wrap dress ties, so both span two sizes. Most people take the wrap dress one size down from the pinafore.

Curtains

Drop	Suits a rod height of	Cut length before your first wash
140 cm	Window-sill length on a standard window	143 cm
180 cm	Below the sill	183 cm
240 cm	Floor length, 2.5 m ceiling	243 cm
280 cm	Floor length, 2.9 m ceiling, or puddled	283 cm

Every panel is 140 cm wide. For a gathered look allow 1.5 to 2 times the rod width in panels; for a flat look, 1.2 times.

Every piece

Piece	Weight	Pre-washed	Made in
Flax Duvet Cover, Oat	165 gsm	Washed 3×	Vilnius, Lithuania
Flax Duvet Cover, Chalk	165 gsm	Washed 3×	Vilnius, Lithuania
Flax Sheet Set	165 gsm	Washed 3×	Vilnius, Lithuania
Flax Pillowcases, Pair	165 gsm	Washed 3×	Vilnius, Lithuania
Flax Duvet Cover, Slate	165 gsm	Washed 3×	Vilnius, Lithuania
Flax Duvet Cover, Sky	165 gsm	Washed 3×	Vilnius, Lithuania
Heavy Flax Tablecloth	190 gsm	Washed 2×	Vilnius, Lithuania
Flax Table Runner	190 gsm	Washed 2×	Vilnius, Lithuania
Flax Napkins	190 gsm	Washed 2×	Vilnius, Lithuania
Flax Placemats	240 gsm	Washed 2×	Vilnius, Lithuania
Flax Napkins, Olive Run	190 gsm	Washed 2×	Vilnius, Lithuania
Grandad Collar Shirt	165 gsm	Washed 2×	Kaunas, Lithuania
Classic Flax Shirt, White	130 gsm	Washed 2×	Kaunas, Lithuania
Wide-Leg Flax Trousers	165 gsm	Washed 2×	Kaunas, Lithuania
Pinafore Flax Dress	165 gsm	Washed 2×	Kaunas, Lithuania
Wrap Flax Dress, Rust	165 gsm	Washed 2×	Kaunas, Lithuania
Flax Lounge Set	130 gsm	Washed 3×	Kaunas, Lithuania
Sheer Flax Curtain Panel	130 gsm	Washed 1×	Vilnius, Lithuania
Dense Flax Curtain Panel	240 gsm	Washed 1×	Vilnius, Lithuania
Flax Café Curtain	130 gsm	Washed 1×	Vilnius, Lithuania
Cross-Back Flax Apron	190 gsm	Washed 2×	Kaunas, Lithuania
Flax Tea Towels	190 gsm	Washed 2×	Vilnius, Lithuania
Striped Flax Kitchen Cloths	190 gsm	Washed 2×	Vilnius, Lithuania
Flax Bread Bag	165 gsm	Washed 2×	Kaunas, Lithuania
Flax Tea Towels, Oat Pair	165 gsm	Washed 2×	Vilnius, Lithuania

Between sizes?

Email hello@linenlumas.com with the flat measurements of something that fits, or your duvet's dimensions, or your rod height. We answer with a size, and we will say if we think you should go down.

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