Flax is a plant. It is also known as fibre flax, common flax, linseed or hair flax. Before cotton came to Europe in the 19th century, fabrics were made from the fibres of this plant. Since then, flax cultivation has declined considerably.

There was an old rule: farmers sowed flax on the 100th day of the year and harvested it 100 days later. The plant grows to about 60 to 100 cm tall. It blooms light blue, with flowers that have five petals.

At harvest time, the plants, which had turned yellowish, were pulled out of the ground by their roots and laid out or tied in bundles to dry. The seeds were separated from the dried plants. The hard woody cores were then removed. This was done using tools or machines that broke the cores into small pieces. The flax fibres were left behind. Linseed oil could be extracted from the seeds.

Just like sheep’s wool, the fibres can be spun into yarn using spinning wheels. The yarn can then be made into fabric using looms. This is how linen is made. In the past, these tasks involved a great deal of manual labour.

Linen was used mainly to make bedding, nightwear, tablecloths, aprons and shirts. The fabric is very hard-wearing, but difficult to iron. Flax is now being grown more widely again. Today, linen is often used for clothing, shoes, decorative fabrics and bookbindings.

Linen was often spread out in meadows and dampened regularly. The sun then naturally bleached the fabric.

Find out:

1. What can be made from flax fibers?
2. When was flax sown?
3. When was it harvested?
4. How tall does flax grow?
5. What colors are the flowers?
6. How were the wooden cores removed from the dried plants?
7. What can be obtained from the seeds?
8. What machines were used to turn the fibres into cloth?
9. What was and is made from flax?
10. How was linen bleached?