The preparations for spinning is similar across most plant fibers, including Flax and Hemp. Cotton is handled differently, as with cotton it is not the stalk of the plant that is used. Flax is the fiber used to create linen.
Harvesting
The first step in preparing flax to be spun is harvesting it. Flax is not cut, but instead it is pulled out of the ground about a month after the initial blooming. It should be pulled when the lower part of the plant begins to turn yellow, and when, on opening the pods, the most forward of the seeds are found in a soft state, and the middle of the seeds is green. It should be pulled in handfuls, straight up. Next, one should join several handfuls together and tie them using a slip knot so that the sting can be tightened as the stalks dry. ( Note that great care should be taken to keep the root ends even.) These bundles of several handfuls of flax (also known as "beets") should be left standing up till the whole is dry, pods and all. At this point the seed will then be ripe and the flax in the best state.
Removing the seedheads
At this point the seed heads are removed. Once the seed heads are removed it can be stored for many months if necessary, but they must be kept dry. An easy way to remove the seed heads is to take a board and hammer in a row of blunt nails at even intervals, like a comb. Spread a sheet out to collect the seed heads, as they can be planted to create more flax. Next pull the dry bundles of flax through the nails (also called a ripple). This will cause the seed heads to pop off. Make sure to maintain the evenness of the root ends.
In order to separate the seeds from the rest of the seed heads an easy method is to thresh the seed heads by use of a rolling pin. Then, on a windy day or in front of a fan, take the mixture and pour it back and forth between two containers. This action is called winnowing. The chaff will get caught in the wind and blow away, while the seeds will fall straight down into the container. A screen also works to filter out some of the chaff.
Retting
Threshing and dressing flax in the Roscheider Hof, Open Air MuseumRetting is the process of rotting away the inner stalk, leaving the outer fibers intact. A standing pool of water or a plastic trash can is needed. Actually, any type of watertight container of wood, concrete, earthenware or plastic will work. Metal will not work, as an acid is produced when retting, and it would corrode the metal. A tall plastic trashcan with a spigot at the bottom works well. Place as many bundles of flax in the trashcan as will fit, and fill the trash can full of warm water (80 degrees Fahrenheit is best). It is suggested that a lid of some sort be put over the trashcan in order to keep the flax submerged, conserve warmth and contain the stench. After 4 hours a complete change of water is recommended, and 8 hours after that the scum should be washed off the top by the addition of some more water. From then on the scum should be washed off every 12 hours until the retting process is over.
If kept at 80 °F (27 °C), the retting process takes 4 or 5 days, and any colder than that takes longer. When the retting is complete the bundles should feel soft and slimy, and quite a few fibers should be standing out form the stalks. When wrapped around a finger the inner woody part should spring away from the fibers. It is better to not let the bundles sit in the water long enough than to let them sit there too long, as they always can be submerged again if found to be wanting later, but the reverse problem cannot be solved (in this case the fibers are rotted as well as the stalk, and one cannot un-rot something).
Dressing the flax
Dressing is the broad term referring to removing the fibers from the straw and cleaning it enough to be spun. The flax is broken, scutched and hackled in this step.
Peasant woman breaking flaxBreaking The process of breaking breaks up the straw into short segments. To do it, take the bundles of flax and untie them. Next, in small handfuls, put it between the beater of the breaking machine ( a set of wooden blades which mesh together when the upper jaw is lowered- it looks like a paper cutter but instead of having a big knife it has a blunt arm), and beat it till the three or four inches (102 mm) that have been beaten appear to be soft. Move the flax a little higher and continue to beat it till all is soft, and the wood is separated from the fiber. When half of the flax is broken, hold the beaten end and beat the rest in the same way as the other end was beaten, till the wood is separated.
Scutching In order to remove some of the straw from the fiber, it helps to swing a wooden scutching knife down the fibers while they hang vertically, thus scraping the edge of the knife along the fibers and pull away pieces of the stalk. Some of the fiber will also be scutched away, this cannot be helped and is natural.
Heckling In this process the fiber is pulled through various different sized heckling combs. A Heckling comb is a bed of "nails"- sharp, long-tapered, tempered, polished steel pins driven into wooden blocks at regular spacing. A good progression is from 4 pins per square inch, to 12, to 25 to 48 to 80. The first three will remove the straw, and the last two will split and polish the fibers. Some of the finer stuff that comes off in the last heckles can be carded like wool and spun. It will produce a coarser yarn than the fibers pulled through the heckles because it will still have some straw in it.
Spinning
Flax being spun from a distaffDepending on the preference of the spinner, flax can either be spun from a distaff, or the spinner may simply lay flax fibers in their lap. It is recommended that the spinner keep their fingers wet when spinning, to prevent forming a fuzzy thread, and that the single be spun with an "S" twist. (See Ply above for details). From this point on much of the process is the same as that for wool.
Washing
One of the few differences in between flax and wool once the fiber is ready for spinning is the washing process. After flax is spun it should be let to sit in a pot of boiling water for a couple of hours to set the twist and reduce fuzziness.
Note:
Many handspinners, instead of doing all the preparation themselves, will buy a roving of flax. This roving is spun in the same manner as above. The rovings may come with very long fibers (4 to 8 inches), or much shorter fibers (2 to 3 inches).
Harvesting
The first step in preparing flax to be spun is harvesting it. Flax is not cut, but instead it is pulled out of the ground about a month after the initial blooming. It should be pulled when the lower part of the plant begins to turn yellow, and when, on opening the pods, the most forward of the seeds are found in a soft state, and the middle of the seeds is green. It should be pulled in handfuls, straight up. Next, one should join several handfuls together and tie them using a slip knot so that the sting can be tightened as the stalks dry. ( Note that great care should be taken to keep the root ends even.) These bundles of several handfuls of flax (also known as "beets") should be left standing up till the whole is dry, pods and all. At this point the seed will then be ripe and the flax in the best state.
Removing the seedheads
At this point the seed heads are removed. Once the seed heads are removed it can be stored for many months if necessary, but they must be kept dry. An easy way to remove the seed heads is to take a board and hammer in a row of blunt nails at even intervals, like a comb. Spread a sheet out to collect the seed heads, as they can be planted to create more flax. Next pull the dry bundles of flax through the nails (also called a ripple). This will cause the seed heads to pop off. Make sure to maintain the evenness of the root ends.
In order to separate the seeds from the rest of the seed heads an easy method is to thresh the seed heads by use of a rolling pin. Then, on a windy day or in front of a fan, take the mixture and pour it back and forth between two containers. This action is called winnowing. The chaff will get caught in the wind and blow away, while the seeds will fall straight down into the container. A screen also works to filter out some of the chaff.
Retting
Threshing and dressing flax in the Roscheider Hof, Open Air MuseumRetting is the process of rotting away the inner stalk, leaving the outer fibers intact. A standing pool of water or a plastic trash can is needed. Actually, any type of watertight container of wood, concrete, earthenware or plastic will work. Metal will not work, as an acid is produced when retting, and it would corrode the metal. A tall plastic trashcan with a spigot at the bottom works well. Place as many bundles of flax in the trashcan as will fit, and fill the trash can full of warm water (80 degrees Fahrenheit is best). It is suggested that a lid of some sort be put over the trashcan in order to keep the flax submerged, conserve warmth and contain the stench. After 4 hours a complete change of water is recommended, and 8 hours after that the scum should be washed off the top by the addition of some more water. From then on the scum should be washed off every 12 hours until the retting process is over.
If kept at 80 °F (27 °C), the retting process takes 4 or 5 days, and any colder than that takes longer. When the retting is complete the bundles should feel soft and slimy, and quite a few fibers should be standing out form the stalks. When wrapped around a finger the inner woody part should spring away from the fibers. It is better to not let the bundles sit in the water long enough than to let them sit there too long, as they always can be submerged again if found to be wanting later, but the reverse problem cannot be solved (in this case the fibers are rotted as well as the stalk, and one cannot un-rot something).
Dressing the flax
Dressing is the broad term referring to removing the fibers from the straw and cleaning it enough to be spun. The flax is broken, scutched and hackled in this step.
Peasant woman breaking flaxBreaking The process of breaking breaks up the straw into short segments. To do it, take the bundles of flax and untie them. Next, in small handfuls, put it between the beater of the breaking machine ( a set of wooden blades which mesh together when the upper jaw is lowered- it looks like a paper cutter but instead of having a big knife it has a blunt arm), and beat it till the three or four inches (102 mm) that have been beaten appear to be soft. Move the flax a little higher and continue to beat it till all is soft, and the wood is separated from the fiber. When half of the flax is broken, hold the beaten end and beat the rest in the same way as the other end was beaten, till the wood is separated.
Scutching In order to remove some of the straw from the fiber, it helps to swing a wooden scutching knife down the fibers while they hang vertically, thus scraping the edge of the knife along the fibers and pull away pieces of the stalk. Some of the fiber will also be scutched away, this cannot be helped and is natural.
Heckling In this process the fiber is pulled through various different sized heckling combs. A Heckling comb is a bed of "nails"- sharp, long-tapered, tempered, polished steel pins driven into wooden blocks at regular spacing. A good progression is from 4 pins per square inch, to 12, to 25 to 48 to 80. The first three will remove the straw, and the last two will split and polish the fibers. Some of the finer stuff that comes off in the last heckles can be carded like wool and spun. It will produce a coarser yarn than the fibers pulled through the heckles because it will still have some straw in it.
Spinning
Flax being spun from a distaffDepending on the preference of the spinner, flax can either be spun from a distaff, or the spinner may simply lay flax fibers in their lap. It is recommended that the spinner keep their fingers wet when spinning, to prevent forming a fuzzy thread, and that the single be spun with an "S" twist. (See Ply above for details). From this point on much of the process is the same as that for wool.
Washing
One of the few differences in between flax and wool once the fiber is ready for spinning is the washing process. After flax is spun it should be let to sit in a pot of boiling water for a couple of hours to set the twist and reduce fuzziness.
Note:
Many handspinners, instead of doing all the preparation themselves, will buy a roving of flax. This roving is spun in the same manner as above. The rovings may come with very long fibers (4 to 8 inches), or much shorter fibers (2 to 3 inches).
bristle mixed /blended filament
polyester cotton twill fabrics
100% polyester embroidery threads
t/c ordinary reflective fabric
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