From Flax to Linen
Linen, the most loved fibre in our collections, does not start off with that name. It starts as a flax plant growing in the fields of France, Belgium or the Netherlands. The Poetry team had a chance to visit the flax farmers and see the extraordinary journey from flax to linen.
01. SOWING
The flax seeds are sown in March or April and harvested in July. Typically, flax is sown in the same field once every six years and is alternated with other plants. Mostly there is no need for irrigation, fertilisers or pesticides.
02. BLOOMING
The flax blooms in June with beautiful blue flowers. Each flower blooms for only one day and a field for about a week. One hectare of flax produces enough material for 4,000 shirts.
03. PULLING AND DEW RETTING
Flax grows to about 1m high and is harvested by pulling the entire plant out of the ground. It is then laid down in the field for dew retting, a process which uses natural humidity and microorganisms to separate the linen fibres from the rest of the plant.
04. SCRUTCHING AND HACKLING
The dried flax plant undergoes mechanical processes that separate the long fibre, the woody parts of the plant and the seeds. No water is required for this process, and all parts of the plant are used.
05. SPINNING
Shorter fibres are separated from the longer ones and the fibres are combed and aligned in preparation for spinning. Spinning is carried out in slight humidity with high-tech machinery to achieve the best quality possible.
06. YARN
Once a yarn is spun it is no longer called flax but is now linen. The linen yarn is woven or knitted into fabrics, and sewn into garments. About 1/3 of our collection is made of linen.