Turning Flax Plant Into Natural Linen Fiber in 8 Steps
Flax has been a companion to humans long before the Americas were discovered by Europeans. Its wild ancestor, Linum angustifolium, is found from the Black Sea to the Canary Islands. The cultivated flax, Linum usitatissimum, meaning "most useful," is the earliest known fiber plant, with evidence of its use dating back to the fifth millennium BC in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Historians often suggest that the Romans brought Linum usitatissimum to England. By the 16th century, laws mandated the cultivation of a quarter-acre of flax for every sixty acres farmed.
Despite its many advantages as a fiber crop, flax's major downside is the intensive labor required, both skilled and unskilled, from sowing to harvesting.
1. PLANTING FLAX
Flax requires nutrient-rich, deep soil and, similar to tobacco, rapidly exhausts the soil's nutrients. In Virginia's early settlement days, this meant it could only be grown on freshly cleared land. After two or three flax harvests, farmers had to plant a crop with lower nutritional demands, like wheat.
2. GROWING FLAX
In the later colonial period, farmers managed to include flax in a crop rotation system, which involved heavy manuring or planting cowpeas a year or two before the next flax planting. Following plowing in November, February, and March, the soil was finely harrowed and raked. In April, the small, oily flax seeds were broadcast sown, followed by a final harrowing. The denser the seed spacing, the less the plants branched, resulting in a higher-quality yield. Properly sown flax doesn't require weeding, as there is no room for weeds to grow.
3. HARVESTING FLAX
Flax requires approximately one hundred days to reach maturity. When the leaves turn yellow and the seeds brown, the flax is harvested by pulling it from the ground by its roots, then spread out to dry for several days, and if time permits, stored to age until the following year. The processing of flax is a highly labor-intensive task, offering employment opportunities for both skilled and unskilled workers, including adults and children.
4. RIPPLING FLAX
Initially, the top portion of the flax bundles is passed through coarse combs in a process known as rippling to remove the seeds. Once the seeds are extracted, it's essential to separate the valuable long, silky inner fibers, which are the final product, from the straw and inner pitch.
5. RETTING FLAX
Retting, the process of loosening and decomposing unwanted fibers, can be accomplished in various ways. The flax may be left in the field to allow the natural elements, especially the moisture in the air, to facilitate the process. Alternatively, submerging the flax in a pond or trough can expedite the process, albeit with a significant odor. The optimal method for retting flax involves exposing it to a continuous flow of water, such as in a stream. The duration of this step varies based on the flax's quality, temperature, and other factors.
6. DRYING FLAX
The appropriate time to grass the flax is when the straw detaches easily from the bent fibers. The bundles are opened and spread out in a field to dry on one side for a few days, then flipped to dry the other side. Once completely devoid of moisture, the crop is stored indoors to age for several more weeks.
7. SCUTCHING FLAX
In this step, the linen fiber is liberated from the boon (unwanted plant material). A large wooden machine called the brake is employed to break down the residual material, further separating it from the final product. Subsequently, the flax undergoes scutching, where it is beaten against a board with a blunt wooden knife.
8. HACKLING FLAX
Hackling is the concluding step, where the fiber is pulled through a succession of metal combs to eliminate any remaining boon and shorter fibers. This process yields a strick, a half-pound bundle of long, light grey fibers, akin to human hair.
We hope you've found this to be an enlightening and valuable read. Discover our assortment of woven flax linen essentials, meticulously created with the techniques outlined previously.