The Duluth Fiber Handcrafter’s Guild gave me Flax seeds and I grew a 9 x 10 foot plot of flax in our garden this summer. Some photos and explanations of what I have done so far follow.
There is still a lot of processing work to do–such as breaking, scrutching, hackling, and softening, before I can tie the flax fiber I grew, put it on a distaff, and spin it. I will need some help and guidance from a DFHC guild member, but, meanwhile, next week I can stand bunches of the dew-retted stems in the barn for the winter and they will keep fine until we are ready to finish retting them and separate the fibers from stems and bark and refine the fibers for spinning in the spring. Wish us luck!
