Falls Landing Foundation
A non-profit corporation
promoting appreciation for the early history of Louisville, Kentucky
and the Ohio River Valley. 

Flax to Linen:  Cultivation, Harvest, Processing

Flax has been cultivated for thousands of years and was an important crop on the frontier.  Most early settlers were recently arrived from the East and preferred the types of clothing to which they were accustomed.  They wore wool, cotton, and linen primarily.  Wool was problematic because of predators and cotton production  was labor intensive prior to the invention of the cotton gin but flax was grown extensively on the frontier.  The following  characteristics made it a highly desirable fabric:

Characteristics:
  • Comfortable
  • Good strength, twice as strong as cotton
  • Hand-washable
  • Crisp hand
  • Tailors well
  • Absorbent
  • Dyes and prints well
  • Lightweight to heavyweight
  • Fair abrasion resistant
    		•

    Documentation reveals that besieged settlers even risked life and limb to retrieve flax from the fields because clothing was in tatters

    This page shows the processes required in linen production 

    Flax is sowed by broadcasting and lightly covering the seed.  Two weeks later the plants look like this:

    There are two distinct varieties of flax.  One is used for fiber (textiles) and the other is used for the seeds (oils and food).  The fiber variety is taller and produces a single long stem that can be waist-high.  The seed variety is shorter, has more branches and therefore more seeds.  The seeds are pressed which yields LINEN SEED OIL OR LINSEED OIL.  This is a good wood preservative and is and was used as a solvent and lubricant.

    Ninety days after sowing, the plants should have bloomed and many will have some immature seed pods.  This is the optimum time for harvest if the purpose of the crop is for textiles.  If there is a need for seed for next year's crop, harvest can be delayed but fiber quality will decline.  Here is the crop shown above at harvest:

    Notice that the bottom of the plants are beginning to yellow.  This is also a sign that the crop is ready for harvest.

    In the 18th century, harvesting was a hand operation.  The plants are shallow rooted and we want the maximum length possible so we pull the plant up roots and all. 

    Plants are gathered in small bundles which are spread out to dry in the sun.