Preparing Flax for Spinning
Of linen cloth
”The next thing to this, which our English housewife must be skilful, is in the making of all sorts of linen cloth, whether it be of hemp or flax, for from these two only is the most principal cloth derived, and made both in this, and in other nations"
- Gervase Markham, The English Housewife (1615)
During medieval times, linen was the most important plant-based cloth available in western Europe. Growing flax and processing it for spinning and weaving was a major part of any housewife's life. This was the fiber that provided the cool clothes of summer, under-tunics, and the bed coverings. It was a valuable and much-needed commodity.
Growing flax
Flax seed is sewn densely in the field, so that the plants grow quite closely together. This insures the plants grow straight, with little branching, producing long, straight fibers in the stems. Flax requires a soil that is broken up as finely as can be managed, as it is sown shallowly,and once sewn, requires a fair bit of attention until it is well-established in a field. Unless the field is carefully watched, especially for the first hour or two after sunrise, birds and other vermin will pick the seeds out of the field, leaving little behind to be harvested later.
Harvesting flax
Flax plants are harvested just as the bases of the stems start to turn yellow, before the seeds mature. If seeds are to be saved, then those plants are harvested two to four weeks later. In order to preserve as long a fiber as possible in the stems, flax is always harvested by pulling it up by its roots, never by cutting. The plants are then bundled together and either stood upright or left laying in the fields temporarily to dry them, until they can be processed further
Rippling the seeds
Once the bundles are dried, the seeds are removed by rippling (raking or combing) them off, using a wooden or metal comb with a single row of teeth. Once the seeds are off the stem -- especially if they are to be saved for oil or next year's seed -- they are winnowed, to loosen the chaff and allow it to blow away, leaving the seed behind.
“The watering of hemp or flax
”Now for the watering of hemp or flax, the best water is the running stream, and the worst is the standing pit; yet because hemp is a poisonous thing, and infecteth the water, and destroyeth all kind of fish, it is more fit to employ such pits and ditches as are least subject to annoyance, except you live near some great broad and swift stream, and then in the shallow parts thereof you may water without danger."
- Gervase Markham, The English Housewife (1615)
Retting the flax
Photo courtesy of Ryan R. McKenzie
In this cross section of a flax stem you can see the different areas that make up the plant. The bast fibers (5) are the fibers we are trying to extract from the rest of the stem, so the epidermis and cortex must be removed, and the rest of the stem must be broken and eliminated, as well.
This is done by a process called "retting" -- literally rotting away the non-fiber parts of the plant. This can be done in either of two ways: dew retting or water retting. The method chosen depends on several conditions -- humidity of the area, availablility of running or still water, and the time available for the retting. Retting can be done right away, or postponed until the next year.
Dew Retting
Dew retting is the simplest method for rotting away the non-fibrous sections of the stem, as mold does most of the work. The success of this method depends on humidity from rain or dew during warm weather months. The flax straw is lain out in flat, uniform layers, all facing the same direction, with the heads of one row of plants overlapping the roots of the next row. (This saves space and helps prevent the wind from moving the straw.)
As soon as the stems change from the yellow-brown of the freshly-harvested straw to a gray-blue, they are ready to be turned over. This "tedding" is done at least once during the process, so that both sides of the plant are exposed. The time needed for dew retting can be anywhere from two weeks to three months, depending on conditions. If conditions dictate, it may be necessary to artificially dampen the flax, in order to continue the retting.
The color of the stems is the best indicator that the retting is sufficient. Once they have turned a dark gray, and the fibers are bursting out at the tips of the stems, they are ready for further processing. To test, take a stem, break it in several places, and run it back and forth between the nails of your thumb and forefinger. The straw should fall away easily from the fibers.
Water Retting
Water retting submerges the flax straw into some sort of container or body of water. It depends on the action of bacteria, rather than mold, to eliminate the unwanted pieces of stem. The method is generally regarded as requiring more work, but producing a blonder fiber than gray fiber produced by dew retting.
Water retting can be done in any body or container of water. Small quantities of straw can be retted in small tanks or barrels, moderate amounts can be done in small ponds, behind dams or in still backwaters, or larger crops can be weighted and done in a flowing stream or river. It should be noted, though, that large-scale retting does pollute the river, making the water unfit for drinking or fish.
Any submersion of the flax will require weighting down, probably with more weight than you might at first consider to be necessary as the retting will produce gasses that force the straw toward the surface. In a barrel or other small container, simply weighting the straw should be sufficient. In ponds and larger still bodies of water, platforms need to be placed over the bundles, and weights placed on the corners to hold everything down. In running water, either anchors are needed, to tether the bundles and their weights in place, or containers that allow the water to flow through must be used.
Historically, some of the finest linen was produced in Flanders along the River Lys. One method used by the retters there was "double-retting" -- allowing the retting process to be stopped part way through, to allow for a period of further drying and bleaching. Another method recommended for producing well-retted flax most safely was a combination of water retting and dew retting. The flax was placed in standing water for a few days, which was then followed with several weeks of spreading it out on dewy grass.
Once flax is completely retted, it is dried again, to stop the retting. The average weight loss by retting is 20% of the starting weight.
Breaking the flax
Once the flax is properly dried, it is now ready for "dressing" -- the actual extraction of the fibers from the stems in preparation for spinning.
The first step in dressing the flax is breaking the flax -- literally breaking the stems in several places. This was traditionally done by striking the bundles with a grooved wooden mallet, or by using a more elaborate flax break. Either way, the idea is to break the hard husk of the stems and the pith at the center of the straw, loosening them from the fibers running through the stem.
Scutching the flax
Once broken, the straw bits must be knocked off the flax fibers. This is done by holding bundles of fibers, hanging through a slot cut in a vertical board (used to protect the hands during the process), and striking the bundles an oblique blow using a bat or short sword. The idea is to brush off much of the chaff that has been produced by the break.
To make the finest fiber, the bundles are often scutched twice, shaking the first round of tow fibers out before proceeding to beat it a second time. The first beating was considered sufficient for flax that was to be taken to market, as it removed the worst of the chaff, and left the fibers clean enough for sale. The second round did much to clean out the remaining tow, and make the straw ready to be hackled. The tow that was knocked out of the bundles of fibers in both rounds was often saved, to be used for rougher cloth.
Hackling the flax
The final step in cleaning the fibers is hackling -- dragging the fibers through a series of combs, each finer than the last, in order to separate the individual fibers that might still be sticking to one another. This cleans the last of the straw bits off the fibers, and also eliminates the last of the shorter tow fibers -- leaving the long fibers aligned and ready to be dressed on the distaff. The final bundle of fibers will be 20"-30" long, and will taper at both ends. This is line flax, ready to spin.
The tow flax, combed out by the hackles, can once again be saved and spun. It will still have some of the straw included in it, and will have more knots than the line flax, but it can be spun for weft. The yarn will not be as smooth as that from line flax, as the fibers will vary from an inch to ten inches in length.
Conclusion
While, today, we are no longer forced by necessity to grow our own fibers in order to create our own cloth, it can be an interesting (and fun) challenge to do so. It gives one a greater appreciation for the many skills and activities that were needed in medieval life to produce the materials and cloth that we take so much for granted. Go and enjoy yourself as you take control of your fiber production.
Further Resources
Amos, Alden, (2001), The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning, Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 495 pp. ISBN: 1-883010-88-8, OCLC: 45873594. A fairly thorough and totally opinionated view of handspinning and how it should be done -- he has his opinions and is not afraid to share them. Fortunately, he also has a lot of experience to back them up, both as a spinner and as a woodworker building wheels. A great browse, and worth the effort to hunt down.
Baines, Patricia, (1989) Linen: Hand Spinning and Weaving, London: B.T. Batsford Ltd., 208 pp. ISBN: 0-934026-52-1, OCLC: 24513653. A very detailed description of the spinning and weaving of linen, with not only descriptions of the modern processes in great detail, but also a thorough review of historical practices. This is the standard source of information for this topic -- quite valuable, if you intend to concentrate on working with linen.
Heinrich, Linda, (2010), Linen: From Flax Seed to Woven Cloth, Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., xiv + 231 pp. ISBN: 978-0-7643-3466-5, OCLC: 475457292. Another wonderfully thorough coverage of the history and processing of linen -- well foot-noted, very good bibliography, and very well illustrated. Another good book to own, if you intend to concentrate on linen processing.
Markham, Gervase, (1986), The English Housewife: Containing the inward and outward virtues which ought to be in a complete woman; as her skill in physic, cookery, banquetting-stuffe, distillation, perfumes, wool, hemp, flax, dairies, brewing, baking, and all other things belonging to a household, edited by Michael R. Best, Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, lviii+321 pp. ISBN: 0-7735-0582-2, OCLC: 17550420. One of the many books on housewifery to come down to us, this work gives us a good feel for how typical chores were handled in Period times.
Web Sites to Visit
You can find a much larger image of the cross section of a flax stem provided in this paper, where you can see much more detail, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Labeledstemforposter_copy.jpg
These pictures are in the public domain, and were photographed by Ryan R. McKenzie.
Other useful web sites:
The book Flax Culture and Preparation can be found on Google Books.
http://www.flaxland.co.uk/break.html -- Flaxland describes an all-day workshop on flax processing.
http://goto.glocalnet.net/linoull/Text/Flax.htm -- This page shows (with great photographs) all the steps in processing flax by hand.
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Flax -- The Classic 1911 Encyclopedia entry on flax: its structure, history, processing and important to the world economy at that time. Filled with other links that may be of interest.
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/flax.html -- Flax, in the Alternative Field Crops Manual.
”The next thing to this, which our English housewife must be skilful, is in the making of all sorts of linen cloth, whether it be of hemp or flax, for from these two only is the most principal cloth derived, and made both in this, and in other nations"
- Gervase Markham, The English Housewife (1615)
During medieval times, linen was the most important plant-based cloth available in western Europe. Growing flax and processing it for spinning and weaving was a major part of any housewife's life. This was the fiber that provided the cool clothes of summer, under-tunics, and the bed coverings. It was a valuable and much-needed commodity.
Growing flax
Flax seed is sewn densely in the field, so that the plants grow quite closely together. This insures the plants grow straight, with little branching, producing long, straight fibers in the stems. Flax requires a soil that is broken up as finely as can be managed, as it is sown shallowly,and once sewn, requires a fair bit of attention until it is well-established in a field. Unless the field is carefully watched, especially for the first hour or two after sunrise, birds and other vermin will pick the seeds out of the field, leaving little behind to be harvested later.
Harvesting flax
Flax plants are harvested just as the bases of the stems start to turn yellow, before the seeds mature. If seeds are to be saved, then those plants are harvested two to four weeks later. In order to preserve as long a fiber as possible in the stems, flax is always harvested by pulling it up by its roots, never by cutting. The plants are then bundled together and either stood upright or left laying in the fields temporarily to dry them, until they can be processed further
Rippling the seeds
Once the bundles are dried, the seeds are removed by rippling (raking or combing) them off, using a wooden or metal comb with a single row of teeth. Once the seeds are off the stem -- especially if they are to be saved for oil or next year's seed -- they are winnowed, to loosen the chaff and allow it to blow away, leaving the seed behind.
“The watering of hemp or flax
”Now for the watering of hemp or flax, the best water is the running stream, and the worst is the standing pit; yet because hemp is a poisonous thing, and infecteth the water, and destroyeth all kind of fish, it is more fit to employ such pits and ditches as are least subject to annoyance, except you live near some great broad and swift stream, and then in the shallow parts thereof you may water without danger."
- Gervase Markham, The English Housewife (1615)
Retting the flax
Photo courtesy of Ryan R. McKenzie
In this cross section of a flax stem you can see the different areas that make up the plant. The bast fibers (5) are the fibers we are trying to extract from the rest of the stem, so the epidermis and cortex must be removed, and the rest of the stem must be broken and eliminated, as well.
This is done by a process called "retting" -- literally rotting away the non-fiber parts of the plant. This can be done in either of two ways: dew retting or water retting. The method chosen depends on several conditions -- humidity of the area, availablility of running or still water, and the time available for the retting. Retting can be done right away, or postponed until the next year.
Dew Retting
Dew retting is the simplest method for rotting away the non-fibrous sections of the stem, as mold does most of the work. The success of this method depends on humidity from rain or dew during warm weather months. The flax straw is lain out in flat, uniform layers, all facing the same direction, with the heads of one row of plants overlapping the roots of the next row. (This saves space and helps prevent the wind from moving the straw.)
As soon as the stems change from the yellow-brown of the freshly-harvested straw to a gray-blue, they are ready to be turned over. This "tedding" is done at least once during the process, so that both sides of the plant are exposed. The time needed for dew retting can be anywhere from two weeks to three months, depending on conditions. If conditions dictate, it may be necessary to artificially dampen the flax, in order to continue the retting.
The color of the stems is the best indicator that the retting is sufficient. Once they have turned a dark gray, and the fibers are bursting out at the tips of the stems, they are ready for further processing. To test, take a stem, break it in several places, and run it back and forth between the nails of your thumb and forefinger. The straw should fall away easily from the fibers.
Water Retting
Water retting submerges the flax straw into some sort of container or body of water. It depends on the action of bacteria, rather than mold, to eliminate the unwanted pieces of stem. The method is generally regarded as requiring more work, but producing a blonder fiber than gray fiber produced by dew retting.
Water retting can be done in any body or container of water. Small quantities of straw can be retted in small tanks or barrels, moderate amounts can be done in small ponds, behind dams or in still backwaters, or larger crops can be weighted and done in a flowing stream or river. It should be noted, though, that large-scale retting does pollute the river, making the water unfit for drinking or fish.
Any submersion of the flax will require weighting down, probably with more weight than you might at first consider to be necessary as the retting will produce gasses that force the straw toward the surface. In a barrel or other small container, simply weighting the straw should be sufficient. In ponds and larger still bodies of water, platforms need to be placed over the bundles, and weights placed on the corners to hold everything down. In running water, either anchors are needed, to tether the bundles and their weights in place, or containers that allow the water to flow through must be used.
Historically, some of the finest linen was produced in Flanders along the River Lys. One method used by the retters there was "double-retting" -- allowing the retting process to be stopped part way through, to allow for a period of further drying and bleaching. Another method recommended for producing well-retted flax most safely was a combination of water retting and dew retting. The flax was placed in standing water for a few days, which was then followed with several weeks of spreading it out on dewy grass.
Once flax is completely retted, it is dried again, to stop the retting. The average weight loss by retting is 20% of the starting weight.
Breaking the flax
Once the flax is properly dried, it is now ready for "dressing" -- the actual extraction of the fibers from the stems in preparation for spinning.
The first step in dressing the flax is breaking the flax -- literally breaking the stems in several places. This was traditionally done by striking the bundles with a grooved wooden mallet, or by using a more elaborate flax break. Either way, the idea is to break the hard husk of the stems and the pith at the center of the straw, loosening them from the fibers running through the stem.
Scutching the flax
Once broken, the straw bits must be knocked off the flax fibers. This is done by holding bundles of fibers, hanging through a slot cut in a vertical board (used to protect the hands during the process), and striking the bundles an oblique blow using a bat or short sword. The idea is to brush off much of the chaff that has been produced by the break.
To make the finest fiber, the bundles are often scutched twice, shaking the first round of tow fibers out before proceeding to beat it a second time. The first beating was considered sufficient for flax that was to be taken to market, as it removed the worst of the chaff, and left the fibers clean enough for sale. The second round did much to clean out the remaining tow, and make the straw ready to be hackled. The tow that was knocked out of the bundles of fibers in both rounds was often saved, to be used for rougher cloth.
Hackling the flax
The final step in cleaning the fibers is hackling -- dragging the fibers through a series of combs, each finer than the last, in order to separate the individual fibers that might still be sticking to one another. This cleans the last of the straw bits off the fibers, and also eliminates the last of the shorter tow fibers -- leaving the long fibers aligned and ready to be dressed on the distaff. The final bundle of fibers will be 20"-30" long, and will taper at both ends. This is line flax, ready to spin.
The tow flax, combed out by the hackles, can once again be saved and spun. It will still have some of the straw included in it, and will have more knots than the line flax, but it can be spun for weft. The yarn will not be as smooth as that from line flax, as the fibers will vary from an inch to ten inches in length.
Conclusion
While, today, we are no longer forced by necessity to grow our own fibers in order to create our own cloth, it can be an interesting (and fun) challenge to do so. It gives one a greater appreciation for the many skills and activities that were needed in medieval life to produce the materials and cloth that we take so much for granted. Go and enjoy yourself as you take control of your fiber production.
Further Resources
Amos, Alden, (2001), The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning, Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 495 pp. ISBN: 1-883010-88-8, OCLC: 45873594. A fairly thorough and totally opinionated view of handspinning and how it should be done -- he has his opinions and is not afraid to share them. Fortunately, he also has a lot of experience to back them up, both as a spinner and as a woodworker building wheels. A great browse, and worth the effort to hunt down.
Baines, Patricia, (1989) Linen: Hand Spinning and Weaving, London: B.T. Batsford Ltd., 208 pp. ISBN: 0-934026-52-1, OCLC: 24513653. A very detailed description of the spinning and weaving of linen, with not only descriptions of the modern processes in great detail, but also a thorough review of historical practices. This is the standard source of information for this topic -- quite valuable, if you intend to concentrate on working with linen.
Heinrich, Linda, (2010), Linen: From Flax Seed to Woven Cloth, Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., xiv + 231 pp. ISBN: 978-0-7643-3466-5, OCLC: 475457292. Another wonderfully thorough coverage of the history and processing of linen -- well foot-noted, very good bibliography, and very well illustrated. Another good book to own, if you intend to concentrate on linen processing.
Markham, Gervase, (1986), The English Housewife: Containing the inward and outward virtues which ought to be in a complete woman; as her skill in physic, cookery, banquetting-stuffe, distillation, perfumes, wool, hemp, flax, dairies, brewing, baking, and all other things belonging to a household, edited by Michael R. Best, Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, lviii+321 pp. ISBN: 0-7735-0582-2, OCLC: 17550420. One of the many books on housewifery to come down to us, this work gives us a good feel for how typical chores were handled in Period times.
Web Sites to Visit
You can find a much larger image of the cross section of a flax stem provided in this paper, where you can see much more detail, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Labeledstemforposter_copy.jpg
These pictures are in the public domain, and were photographed by Ryan R. McKenzie.
Other useful web sites:
The book Flax Culture and Preparation can be found on Google Books.
http://www.flaxland.co.uk/break.html -- Flaxland describes an all-day workshop on flax processing.
http://goto.glocalnet.net/linoull/Text/Flax.htm -- This page shows (with great photographs) all the steps in processing flax by hand.
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Flax -- The Classic 1911 Encyclopedia entry on flax: its structure, history, processing and important to the world economy at that time. Filled with other links that may be of interest.
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/flax.html -- Flax, in the Alternative Field Crops Manual.