Flax to Linen group of Victoria made a movie for you!

Watch the Victoria Flax to Linen group demonstrate the processes from planting the seeds through processing and weaving the fibre into cloth.



A few of us got together to make a film about the history of growing Linen Cloth in Victoria, but also a tutorial on how you can do it too.  

A little bit later, we got together and made another, shorter, film about what it's like to do a public demonstration about where linen clothes come from.



As a side note, if you like this sort of thing and want to see more like it, I have some exciting ideas for you.  But I need fuel.  So if you really like it, hop over to  youtube and give the video a thumbs up.  Such a small thing and yet, those thumbs are a great source of motivation when I have doubts that 'no one will ever watch, I shouldn't bother.  

Beautifully done r! I'm a visual learner, so this cleared up some of my gaps in understanding.

Thank you!

What a wonderful movie!  I will never fold my linen clothing again. I appreciate it even more. Thank you.

I have no skills or talent related to making cloth but that video was so great. Very warm, friendly and informative. I could totally see coming to help just because the group looks like so much fun.  Making linen would be a nice bonus. :)

My sticky note says it all. One of the seed packets is from last year that never got in the ground because I missed the planting window but I'm determined not to miss it this spring.
Fantastic video! Thank you! And I love the smocked aprons....❤️

I love watching videos of flax to linen and this has been my favorite (I went to YouTube and liked it). I wear primarily linen and wool and have always felt a deep connection to this fiber. Its such an amazing fiber! Not that long ago I found out that an ancestor of mine (1700s) was on the Irish Flax Growers list, which was really neat to learn. Its in the plans to grow on our little homestead. I've spun it on my wheel, both wet and dry, and find that the wet spun is my preferred thread. Thanks for making (and sharing) this video.

Amazing!! You have no idea how much I was able to get out of this video. Thank you SO SO SO much <3

This is a wonderful video and the skill share opportunity for people of all ages will do wonders for the social capital of a community. I just found a local sheep farm where I plan to visit an get some wool to experiment with, I also got 10 fiber books from the library! I'm very excited for this venture, so I will plant a plot for fiber and pollinators and see how we do! Thank you for this topic and you work in writing the book. Great drawings in the book. Otsukarasamadashita.

What a beautiful tribute to your friends!  I'm sure they would be proud.  I bought my first ever linen shirt last year, and now after seeing your video, I have such a better appreciation for the material itself, and the craftsmanship that must have gone into making it.  It will mean much more to me now, in addition to thinking about the beautiful location where it was purchased.

Now I'll have to look into the "Fibershed" movement.  

I suppose there will be folks on the forum here looking to try this experience, too.  I might have to grow a bunch of flax to share now!

Thank you!

Not so long ago I found out there are some people here in the Netherlands having projects with flax and linen production too! One project really growing flax in the Netherlands and wanting to start up all needed phases of production here in the regio and one collecting used linen and cotton for recycling the fibers. The last one uses machines in a factory here in the east of the Netherlands to spin and weave linen and linen-cotton blends. Those two projects are now in contact with each other.
So this isn't the small scale homestead craft, but their aim is to produce organic linen fabrics and products totally regional. Flax is back!

That was delightful to watch, a beautiful art
I'm growing flax for sure, a gorgeous plant
Thank you for sharing

Such a lovely movie!  Thank you so much for sharing.  There is nothing better than being able to create things from the ground up.  

The information was really top notch - with every question that arose, the answers came moments later.  There was a quiet peacefulness about the entire process that the movie showcases beautifully.  My fingers are aching to work with some fiber now!!!

Lovely video, Raven with lots of good information in it. Thank you for sharing it. I've one question about the rhetting (spelling?) - if you soak the flax in a container what do you do with the water when it is done? In the video they said something about an advantage to the dew method is not having to dispose of the water the flax was soaked in . . . you can't just dump it on the ground? Is it harmful to plants, animals or people? I do have a pond on my property but it is spring fed without an outlet so if rhetting the flax turns the water noxious I definitely wouldn't want to use the pond.

Carla Coleman wrote:Lovely video, Raven with lots of good information in it. Thank you for sharing it. I've one question about the rhetting (spelling?) - if you soak the flax in a container what do you do with the water when it is done? In the video they said something about an advantage to the dew method is not having to dispose of the water the flax was soaked in . . . you can't just dump it on the ground? Is it harmful to plants, animals or people? I do have a pond on my property but it is spring fed without an outlet so if rhetting the flax turns the water noxious I definitely wouldn't want to use the pond.

Retting - is a very old word and appears in multiple languages.  There are many correct spellings.  The current standard in my part of North America is 'ret' and 'retting', but it is not the only or 'correct' way to spell it.  It's just the current fashion.

I don't water ret because of the toxins it produces.  It's a strong anaerobic (air-hateing) process.  Like making compost tea, but without aeration.  The wastewater from retting kills my grass when diluted 10:1.  I also don't like it because it's so fussy.  It takes a lot of human attention.  It needs to be checked several times a day for doneness and if you miss it by a few hours, you can lose a lot of fibre quality.  

Whereas dew retting may take longer, but it takes far less human time.  If you forget it for a few days, it will forgive you.  The fibres will probably just get better (as I always bring mine in a few days too soon).

Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to put this together!

I hesitate to ask this because I am afraid of the answer, but do you have any sense of the time and yield from plant to fabric? Say 1 acre of flax?

Excellent! What an enjoyable and informative video!!!
Thank you so much for making it.....

I don't water ret because of the toxins it produces.  It's a strong anaerobic (air-hateing) process.  Like making compost tea, but without aeration.  The wastewater from retting kills my grass when diluted 10:1.  I also don't like it because it's so fussy.  It takes a lot of human attention.  It needs to be checked several times a day for doneness and if you miss it by a few hours, you can lose a lot of fibre quality.  

Whereas dew retting may take longer, but it takes far less human time.  If you forget it for a few days, it will forgive you.  The fibres will probably just get better (as I always bring mine in a few days too soon).

Thanks for the further information, Raven. Since I live east of you in what is commonly referred to as "high desert" I was concerned that I wouldn't get enough dew for that method to work but I'll give it a try!

You can also hose it down each evening with artificial dew.  

LOL - can't believe that didn't even cross my mind!

This video hit 10K views today!

I'm so happy that it reached so many people.  Happy dance!  

Loved the video! I learned alot more than from many other youtube videos about how to process flax fibers. I see that this will be a long time learning all the do's and don't's as I move forward in learning (or relearning if you believe in reincarnation). From my other weaving projects I have discovered just how calming, creative and satisfying weaving is for me. Alas, I must wait awhile longer before I can move on to the next part of the process until after the cross-country move. Gosh how I wish I were already there!

Here we are again!  


link to the video

Another day out for the flax to linen group.  This time just a few photos,  but good to get the word out.

https://www.saanichnews.com/community/photos-north-saanich-farmers-bond-with-community-at-annual-flavour-trail/

Take away notes... flax grows in the same time frame and conditions as oats. Oats are planted in both fall and spring in Texas.  If someone wants to try this here it's almost planting time.

If I remember properly r Ranson had good results with common flax seed.  I have no interest in processing fiber right now, but I do eat the seed.  I grew a short red flax variety one year by simply scattering seeds as I spread wildflower seeds and they thrived.  Maybe I will spread some seed from the pantry.  It's a low energy experiment.

I loved that video!  And now have Many questions about that LUNCH!  Recipe? where did you get those cool wrappers?

:)
Sandy

Wow, that answered a lot of questions for me; thank you for this labor of love!!  It obviously took a great deal of both...

Two things I am wondering: one, how would one construct a brake/break ?  It was not possible to see its makeup exactly, within the jaws of the tool; were those two dowels with one between?

The other thing I am wondering is, how did Medieval peoples do the pectin-removing step, absent of Borax...did they use urine/urea, or something else more readily available; or did they maybe just make stiff finished items that would soften up eventually over long use?

Thanks so much for this very important information!!  So much enlightenment for me; i.e., that the roots are left attached!!  

For anyone interested in the answer to my second question: Sally Pointer's (an archeologist) Youtube video on Stone Age nettle fiber preparation shows that leaving some of the green/pectin-containing matter in the fibers (which are manually worked, not retted) is essential to the (manual) preparation of a twisted, two-ply cord or yarn; the pectins help hold the cordage tightly together.

I guess over time usage/washing would soften and also loosen the weave.  

And now I'm wondering something many others may also be thinking about: which are the plentiful, indigenous fiber plants in my area?  (I am in the Deep South US).  Native Americans here have used yucca Filamentosa/Adam's Needle and other related yucca plants, for the leaf fibers; we have no actual Stinging Nettle and the False Nettle is not abundant.  

And another question: someone on here mentioned sowing some "short, red flax" from her food seed; what, if any, variety/color of edible-seed flax is also tall and suitable for fiber?  Until I read that (sorry no name; went back and couldn't find the comment) I think I had assumed all flax seed was the one variety...ha

Has anyone on here prepared and used other fibers from their native/indigenous plant sources? It would be an interesting rabbit track...  

I grew some a few years ago (2020). I got sick of looking at it hanging in the barn. I’m a little bitter it choked out daffodils; multi cropping maybe a bad idea… and thinking I wasted my time and energy growing it (kid’s changed free time priorities of my linen nut wife. I have a couple varieties under a blanket of snow right now- if the seed is still viable. Pretty plant.

S Smithsson wrote:I loved that video!  And now have Many questions about that LUNCH!  Recipe? where did you get those cool wrappers?

:)
Sandy

The lunch is called Onigiri and I fell in love with it as a healthy food from Japanese convenience stores.  

It's pretty much just rice wrapped around a filling, in this case, tuna, mayo, and wasabi.  I often add salt and vinegar to the rice in the summer to extend how long it stays good away from the fridge.  Traditionally, it's wrapped in seaweed (nori) but this wrapper comes from a local Asian food shop and has a plastic layer to protect the nori and keep it crisp.  Traditionally it can also be wrapped in big leaf herbs (shiso or perilla is delicious) or in other things to keep it from getting dirty.

Betsy Carraway wrote:Wow, that answered a lot of questions for me; thank you for this labor of love!!  It obviously took a great deal of both...

Two things I am wondering: one, how would one construct a brake/break ?  It was not possible to see its makeup exactly, within the jaws of the tool; were those two dowels with one between?

The other thing I am wondering is, how did Medieval peoples do the pectin-removing step, absent of Borax...did they use urine/urea, or something else more readily available; or did they maybe just make stiff finished items that would soften up eventually over long use?

Thanks so much for this very important information!!  So much enlightenment for me; i.e., that the roots are left attached!!  

Flax breaks come in a lot of shapes and sizes (in some countries, they didn't use a break, they use a mallet and a rock).  I think The Big Book of Handspinning, has some plans for a break.  

Borax is a mineral and it was available since at least Roman times if not before in some parts of the world.  

There are a lot of options, and it depends on the local materials, but I don't think urine would be used unless they didn't have anything else.  I tend to use washing soda, baking soda, or if I'm too lazy to walk all the way to the pantry to get one of those, I toss in a handful of wood ash.  But be careful because wood ash and water makes lye and the burns can be pretty bad.  In this day and age, it's much safer to use modern mixes like washing soda.  

No way, I was just trying to research flax and linen processes in the last couple days, and lo! behold, Permies boosts this thread in its dailyish.  

Hannah Johnson wrote:No way, I was just trying to research flax and linen processes in the last couple days, and lo! behold, Permies boosts this thread in its dailyish.  

This might help https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/673745296/homegrown-linen-transforming-flaxseed

Another day out - and an apron