Ross Lake

About

Ross Lake is an open geometric grid of long fiber, pure unbleached, undyed linen. Ross Lake has the added advantage of being an extra wide width, making it useful in a variety of applications and environments. Made of the finest linen, grown and processed to the absolute minimum, the fabric is reminiscent of new mown hay in the sun. A smart choice for drapery that's visually stunning and functionally sturdy. Would make romantic drapes for your canopy bed! Would also make nice scarves, summer blankets, and all sorts of apparel.

Eco Facts

Old-World Methods
The yarns are woven into the fabric at a mill in southern Italy that has been in the same location for over 100 years; and which has earned the "Master of Linen" designation. This mill uses absolutely no sizers or de-sizers, in fact it uses no chemicals at all throughout their production process, avoiding chemical baths that degrade the yarn's quality and inherent strength.

Note about long fibers
The single most important determinant of the quality of the final fabric is the length of the fibers that are spun into the yarn. While cotton fibers are very short – the longest being just under 2 inches; linen fibers are often feet, not inches, long. But it takes special equipment and skill to spin those long fibers, so most producers “cottonize” their fibers, meaning they chop them into 2-inch average that is handle-able by cotton producing equipment. Also, linen production always produces short fibers. Those short fibers are run on cotton equipment and the resulting fabric is 100% linen, but it is not high quality, long fiber linen.

Fabric Name

Named after 12,000 acre Ross Lake, a reservoir formed by the Ross dam and part of the Skagit Hydroelectric Project operated by Seattle City Light. Ross Lake has a quality sport fishery made up of naturally reproducing trout which have spawning grounds in the Skagit River above the lake. Limited access to the lake helps protect the pristine quality of the lake and its environment.

Care

Ross Lake shrinks a little over 10% the first time washed in cool or hot temperatures. It loses a bit of its geometric quality and openness, but gets softer.