In the modern world we ignore the humble flax plant but it was used by humans 30,000 years ago and was one of the major sources of fiber for clothes in ancient Egypt and part of the secret of feeding the Roman army on roman meal. Over time we have developed flax types that are specialized. There is a bushy plant that has many seed heads for oil seed production. There is also a tall single stem type with fewer leaves that was developed for its straw and to be made into linen. You have to decide which type you wish to grow and get the seeds for it. Common Flax Common Flax Seeds (Linum usitatissimum) It grows well on good ground, does well in cool weather, if planted thick, needed for good stems for linen, that shades out weeds and takes about 100 days to grow to maturity. Its stem is used to make linen cloth, ropes and cords. Its tow fibers were used to chink boats seams and cabin logs, start fires, make paper, make rough cloth used for bags, and to wipe things down. Its seeds were used in cooking and with lye soap to make drawing poultices, Its oil was used fresh in making a very good food supplement and as the source of linseed oil which was used to make paint, oil finishes, water proofing, window putty and such. There is a difference in timing on the harvest. If you want to use the flax for fiber you harvest earlier and the seed pods will not be fully formed. For seed the plant must be fully brown, for fiber it still needs some green. When I was a kid, 1946, I would go down to my grand fathers farm and I loved to go up to the storage room in the grain storage building. There were the old spinning wheels, combs for flax and wool cards, harness repair equipment, pickling crocks, butchering equipment, a loom,and all the rest of the stuff he just couldn't throw away even if it was not being used any more. I am going to start this post on getting the flax fiber ready for spinning, Some of the things I liked best in this post are not mentioned. He pulls the plant and bundles into groups which he ties with a group of stems made into a tie. Then he piles them into a shock of several bundles and ties the tops together. That allows the air to dry the grain and keeps the water from ruining it. The same process is used in harvesting all grains by hand. If you let it fully dry on the stalk in the ground, it will shatter when you cut it and you will lose the grain. If you remove the high moisture seeds and put them in a bin, they will heat, mildew and spoil. One thing I remember was that the field mice wanted the grain and that the snakes wanted the mice. Always kick the shock and be careful as there was often snakes in them, Grand dad would only allow us to kill the rattlers, the rest had to be let go to get more mice. He also kept snakes in the barn and the feed supplies rather than cats. Said they were a lot less fuss and cheaper to keep. He finishes the drying by laying the straw on the ground. You would not do that if you wanted to save the seeds. You would either thresh it then or put it into a dry building to process later. He does use a "magical" hook with a handle to gather up the loose stocks on the ground. We always used one when grand dad cut grain by hand, but I haven't seen them named, Keeps your hands out of the stubble and is much quicker. Another example of what we have already lost in time. We used a wide wooden rake to gather grass into piles and a 3 pronged fork to throw it into the hay wagon. He uses two processes to break down the hard material in the stems. The first is to beat them and get rid of the outer parts. That will not remove or free up the inner fibers. He uses a flax break to bend the inner fibers and divide them. Then he combs them twice, once with a course tool to get rid of the hard parts and once with a fine tooth to align the fibers for the spinning wheel. While some of the tools are only used for flax, much of it used also with wool and in growing grain for humans and animals. My grand dad kept flax seeds in his house until he died at 87. It was one of the things that he wanted to be sure he had. https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtisanVid...ng_harvesting_and_processing_flax_into_linen/ If you wish to save the seeds, you need to ripple or comb the flax heads to thresh out the seed, They come out as pods which have to be broken up and winnowed. Perhaps now you are starting to realize what we have lost. My grand dad had the seeds, the land, the tools and the knowledge to make a shirt or a blanket from scratch on his own farm and before 1900 they did. While you might make cloth, I think it would take years to get all the kinks out of the process. Seed to Sail: Dressing the flax – Spindles In the Wild This is one that better shows raising flax and processing it into cloth using more tools. One of the most missed parts of weaving is the dressing of the holder of the material being spun. You can not spin a fiber if they are no arranged to pull out in an organized manner. The loom they show is a simple one, only one layer of cloth, but how hard would it be to make one from scratch, or a spinning wheel, or the carding tools? While we spend a thousand dollars on a firearm, why not the same for long term survival items? Not for tomorrow but for the day after tomorrow. A better view of dressing the distaff. Linen Flax - Flax plant for spinning and weaving (plant fibers forum at permies) In early America the linen thread was often used as the long warp threads in a loom and the cross threads used wool. It thus had both strength and warmth, but would not become miss shappen when worn or washed. It was sometimes washed before it was sewn into clothing or bedding to allow the shrinkage to happen. It was called linsey wooly and was what the poorer people wore. Since the wool threads were supported and held in place by the linen threads, they could use a poorer grade of wool thread to make the cloth, often that found on the bushes and such that the sheep had shed. The straw was often used without retting to thatch structures and the thatch tied down with ropes made of flax that had been retted. Here are some pictures from Ireland that show it in use until about 1900. The oils in the flax straw slowed down the decay and it is said that they would last 20 years or so. Thatching in Ireland; Ulster | Thatching Info.com The flax straw and the tow that is made in the combing process can also be used in paper making. In fact you probably have some on you at the present time. US currency is printed on paper that is 75 % cotton and 25 % linen.
