Flax, Linum usitatissimum L, and cotton, Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense, are natural products thatare harvested and processed into fibers that consequently vary in length, strength, and fineness. Flax fibers have traditionally
been spun into linen fabrics using long-line staple-length fibers. These single flax fibers typically have a density of 1.5 g/cm3, an elongation to break of 2.4%, a tensile strength of 1100 MPa, and a Young’s modulus of 100 GPa [1]. Recently, there has been increased interest in utilizing short staple length (cottonized) flax fibers in the production
of natural blends of flax and cotton yarns and the subsequent textiles. Single cotton fibers display a similar density of 1.5–1.6 g/cm3, but a longer elongation to break of 7.0–8.0%, a lower tensile strength of 287–597 MPa, and a lower Young’s modulus of 5.5–12.6 GPa [2]. It has been demonstrated [3;4] that short staple-length flax can be processed as a blend with cotton, but efficient production has been limited by relatively slow processing rates compared to 100% cotton, as well as by comparative yarn quality.