Flax Process

Flax plant (linum usitatissimum) a: roots; b: stem (containing fibers); c: leaves entire, narrow; d: flowers blue, somewhat white, pink or violet, arranged in a biparous cyme; e: fruit (boll capsule) containing less than 10 seeds.

It is cultivated either as a textile plant, for the fibers contained in the stem, or for its oleo-protinaceous seeds. Winter flax varieties, with their procumbent growth at the beginning of their development, are differentiated from spring flax varieties, that grow erect and are sensitive to cold. Textile flax has been cultivated in Europe since the Middle Ages, but has declined since the appearance of cotton. Planting occurs in spring; harvesting occurs by uprooting when the capsules are yellow green. Retting permits decomposition of cements which bind the fibers.

Linseed or Flaxseeds Flax seeds produce an oil used for industrial purposes and are also used as animal feed. Sown in March, the oil yielding flax is harvested when the seeds are mature, drying may be necessary.  Flax for seed is produced and harvested in about the same manner as wheat and other small grains. Yields and quality are best in relatively cool climates. Flax seed yields from 30 to 40 percent linseed oil by weight. The oil is used in the manufacture of paints, varnishes, linoleum, oilcloth, printing inks, QLIFE® cosmetics, and other products. In recent years the fiber from seed flax has been used in the manufacture of high-grade and special purpose papers.  Flax seed is naturally mucilaginous.

Harvesting Flax Flax is harvested by pulling the plant from the ground rather then cutting. One of the advantages of linen is its durability and this durability is derived from the length of the flax fibers. Therefore, you pull rather than cut the plant. Harvesting should be done on a warm, sunny day.

Drying, Retting, Turning Drying: After harvesting, the flax is stacked in hedges to dry. Once dried, the seeds are removed.   Retting and Turning: Then flax is exposed to moisture to break down the pectin that binds the fibers together. In the past, flax was retted in rivers, particularly in the Lys region, which imparted a lovely golden glow to the fibers. Today, for ecological reasons, retting is no longer performed in rivers. The preferred method still requires the intervention of Mother Nature as the flax is spread out in the fields and exposed to rain, dew and sunshine for several weeks.

Breaking the Flax Fibers After soaked (or retted) flax has dried, the stem is cracked on a tool called a flax break. Small bundles of flax are placed across the lower wooden blades; the upper blades break the outside chaff.

Inside Fibers The inner soft fibers are the part of the plant used for the fabric.

Fibers become flexible Once the flax has been worked on the flax break it is flexible.

Scrutching  The scutching knife is struck against a vertical wooden board to remove the loose pieces of stem from the fiber.

Hatchel A comb (or hatchel) separated the long fibers and removed the short ones. The short fibers (or tow) were used for bags and ropes.

Finer Hatchels Fibers from the finer comb (or hatchel) were used for work clothes. Skill is required to avoid cutting the fingers on the spikes of the comb.

Soft Fibers After combing the hatchelled flax, the long fibers are very soft.

Foot powered This foot powered machine turns a wheel; the spokes of the wheel beat the fibers as they are clustered in a bundle.

Twist of Linen thread A twist is made from the bundle of fibers by turning one end over the other (almost like making a rope). A twist is made to store the fibers for winter spinning.  

Final Product This is a set of twists.