Linen: From Seed to Shirt - A Journey into the History and Production of Linen Fabric

1. Linen: Seed to Shirt Presented by: Lady Margareta Gijsberts greetofphoenixglade@gmail.com at Gatalop, 2007

2. Bibliography • Elizabeth Barber, Women’s Work: The First 20,000 Years, 1994. • Patricia Baines, Linen: Handspinning and Weaving, 1989 (OOP). • Patricia Baines, Flax and Linen, 1985. • Bette Hochberg, Spin, Span, Spun: Fact and Folklore for Spinners and Weavers,1979. • Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs & Steel, 1998. • Arnold Pacey, Technology in World Civilization: A Thousand-Year History. • Frances Pritchard, Clothing Culture: Dress in Egypt in the First Millenium AD, 2006.

3. Why linen? Linen Lingerie Linseed Linseed Oil Linoleum • Linen is our oldest clothing fiber • It’s 20% stronger when wet, doesn’t felt. • Conducts heat easily, dries quickly. • Bleaches easily, sheds soil easily • Doesn’t require sheep

4. Seed • Linen is a plant fiber = CELLULOSE (wool and silk are PROTEIN) • Linum Usatatissimum • Renewable: save seeds and replant • Seeds are edible and very nutritious • Flaxseed oil • Ground flaxmeal • Linseed oil base for paints and wood finishes

5. Growing Flax • In warm climates like Meridies, grown in WINTER. Egyptians planted in November.(2) Since hardy in cold, widespread throughout Europe. • Heavily manured field, blue flowers, needs periodic support for long stems

6. Harvesting Flax • Pulled, not cut from field, to prevent exposing fiber to next steps of process • The longer left in the field, the coarser it will be – ‘green flax’ creates fine and supple linen, but no chance to save seed Pulling flax in Flanders

7. Processing Flax • Dry the stems, then ‘ret’ or ROT the outer cellulose from around the inner stem fibers. • Stem fibers are called ‘bast’ fibers • Other bast fibers are nettles, hemp, ramie, which produce linen-like fabric when treated in the same way

8. Retting Flax • Wet-retting or Dew-retting • Wet-retting: Submerge stems in slow-moving water – STINKS • Dew-retting: Thin layer of dried stems on lawn, requires turning – reputed to produce a more ‘silvery’ strick.

9. Breaking Flax • Necessary to break off the outer cellulose and inner core.

10. Scutching and Hackling • Tow vs line flax

11. Spinning thread • Egyptian spinning – Pre-draft a ribbon of flax • Twist the fibers together briefly every 3” • Wind that ribbon into a ball • Submerge it in a pot of water • Spin with a top-whorl distaff • If you’re really clever, like an Egyptian – do TWO. • Let’s try this.

12. Spinning with a distaff

13. Distaff, cont. • Distaff side = women’s side of the family, since a woman had to be spinning ALL THE TIME to meet needs of her family. • Symbol of courtship and sex • Handy weapon

14. Spinning with a wheel • Spinning wheels imported from East? • Earliest images(6): • Baghdad (1237) • China (1270) • Europe (1280) • Flax wheels have a smaller diameter than wool wheels, since twist ratio need not be as high due to fiber length

15. Spinning a yarn • Spinning in folklore • ‘Straw into gold’ from Rumpelstiltskin • Three fates: Clotho, Lachesis, Atrophos • Sleeping Beauty – how old is this tale? • Three ugly sisters • Many others (Seven swan brothers, Hungarian twin sisters, etc)

16. Weave into cloth • Humidity, sizing • Fabric bleachable (2) • Dye process: triple mordant = alum/tannic acid/alum • Weaves: plain, damask, diaper, Swedish Lace

17. Shirt • Sometimes woven into shape (7) • Creases under nail • Dampen sewing thread • Laundry – a mangle or smoothing board for calendering • Use your linen! ‘Good linen’ saved for a someday that never comes, turns brown and brittle.

18. Actual Objects • Flaxseed • Hackled flax • Linen handkerchief • Linen of different weights • Bleached/unbleached linen • Damask napkin • Flax wheel