Side by side
Cotton vs Linen
Cotton and linen are the two great plant fibers of clothing, both breathable, both washable, but they come from different parts of different plants and behave differently. Cotton is the soft seed hair of the cotton plant, giving a smooth, even, forgiving cloth. Linen is the bast fiber from the stalk of the flax plant, giving a stronger, crisper, more textured cloth that is cooler in heat but wrinkles freely.
Cotton
No. 126the seed-hair fiber, woven into countless cloths · first documented Antiquity
Linen
No. 040plain weave · first documented Antiquity
The differences
| Aspect | Cotton | Linen |
|---|---|---|
| Source | The seed-hair fiber of the cotton plant. | The bast (stalk) fiber of the flax plant. |
| Hand and texture | Soft, smooth, and even from the start. | Crisper and more textured, with natural slubs; softens with washing. |
| Coolness | Breathable and comfortable, but holds a little more heat and moisture against the skin. | Exceptionally cool and fast-drying; the classic hot-weather cloth. |
| Strength | Strong, and slightly stronger wet than dry. | Stronger than cotton, and one of the strongest natural fibers; very durable. |
| Wrinkling | Wrinkles, but less sharply, and resists creasing better. | Wrinkles readily and holds sharp creases, part of its relaxed look. |
| Cost | Cheaper and produced at vast scale. | More expensive, as flax is harder to grow and process. |
Which to choose
Choose cotton for everyday softness, easy care, and low cost. Choose linen for maximum coolness, strength, and that crisp, slubbed, lived-in texture in hot weather, accepting that it will wrinkle. Both soften with age, but linen rewards it most.
Common questions
- Is linen cooler than cotton?
- Yes. Linen conducts heat away from the body well, absorbs and releases moisture faster, and dries quicker, so it feels cooler in hot, humid weather. This is why linen is the traditional summer and tropical cloth.
- Why does linen wrinkle so much more than cotton?
- Linen fibers are stiffer and less elastic than cotton, so they crease sharply and do not spring back. Cotton has a little more give and resists creasing somewhat better, though it still wrinkles.
- Which lasts longer?
- Linen. Flax fiber is stronger and more durable than cotton, and good linen can last for decades, softening rather than wearing out. Cotton is durable too but generally less long-lived than linen.