Abstract: With a unique hand feel and performance, linen fabrics are widely used in home textiles and apparel. But pure linen products have poor breathability, mechanical properties and other deficiencies, restricting the further possibilities and application. Take flax fiber as the main raw material and blend it with cotton, polyester fiber, wool, lyocell fiber, etc., to prepare five different styles of knitted fabrics. The results show that flax/polyester fiber/PTT fiber blended knitted fabric has the best anti-pilling property with 3-4 grade; and its tensile breaking strength is the highest, up to 3.390 N/mm. The flax/cotton/lyocell fiber blended knitted fabric boasts the best air permeability of 1930.30 mm/s. The flax/cotton blended knitted fabric has the best absorbent quality with a 12.5 cm wicking height. The flax/wool/cotton blended knitted fabric has the best quick-drying performance with a 0.38 g/h evaporation rate. The relevant research provides certain references for the raw material selection of linen blended fabrics and their application in different garment fields.

Key words: flax fiber; blending; knitted fabrics; moisture absorption and quick drying; breathability