Tricks for working with linen

For years, I avoided weaving with linen, and when I finally tried it, yep.  It's hard.  So hard that I sent my loom to a friend's house to finish off the weaving, and even she had trouble.

I've gotten to know linen a bit since then, and here is basically the video I wish I had watched when I was a new weaver.  How to make weaving with linen easy.  

 

Dressing a linen distaff - ideas for next year?

Distaffs (or distaves) are used for all sorts of different fibres.  It's basically a third hand that holds the fibre while our other hands are busy spinning it into yarn.

Distaff Day is on the 7th of January and is the most important holiday in the spinner's calendar.  Well, I say holiday, but it's actually the back-to-work day but we do it with great fun.  

This year, I dressed distaves in flax fibre for spinning linen yarn.  

Here's a free PDF guide on dressing a distaff with linen fibre.

Last year I did the same with wool

Now, how do I up my game for next year?  Anything about distaves you wanted to know?

Blooming after a fallow state - the Victoria Flax to Linen Group

“The theory was that while in a Fallow state you were gathering and conserving strength, nourishing yourself through meditation, sending invisible rootlets out into the universe.”

― Margaret Atwood, MaddAddam

Got to hang out with the Victoria Flax to Linen group last weekend.  It was really special to connect after so many years in hibernation.  

It's a Test! A germination test.

This works with any seed (although the wait times vary), I find it useful to test flaxseed before planting so I can know how thick to sew the seeds.

When it comes to seeds, flaxseed has a very short shelf life.  Two-year-old seed often has poor germination rate so running this quick test will tell you a lot about how much you need to plant.

What you need:

• some seed
• paper towel or cloth
• water

Count out at least 10 seeds (I like to do 10, 25, or 50 as they math into 100 easily).  The more seeds you have, the more accurate the results.  10 seeds are enough to get a good idea of how the batch will grow.

Fold up the towel/cloth and place it in the conditions the seeds would normally germinate.  

For example, if these were tomato seeds, then put them somewhere warm and dark like on top of the fridge.  Since these are flaxseed, put them somewhere fairly cool or room temp.  I left mine on the windowsill.

After a few days, check on the seeds and count how many sprouted.  For mine, 8 of 10 sprouted, so I know I have a germination rate of 80%.  That's pretty good for (non-commercial nursery) flaxseed.

If I have low germination, like 50%, then I can still grow the item.  I just need to plant twice as many seeds for the space as I would if I got 90+%.  

A video on growing and processing flax into linen

A book about Homegrown Linen; transforming flaxseed into fibre

So how am I doing with youtube Short?  If you like it, please pop over to youtube and give it a thumbs up and maybe even leave a comment.  This will let me know if it's worth making more of these little videos.

If you like this sort of thing and want to see more of it, here are some things you can do to support me on my creative journey.

- go to youtube and give me a thumbs up!  Or even a subscribe!  That would be awesome
- or pop over to my Etsy shop and support me that way.

Flax to Linen: The Movie

 It's been ages since I've seen you guys.  

But I haven't been idle.  

Last year, I got together with some brilliant ladies and made a video.  

To be blatantly honest, I might have bitten off more than I can chew.  I remember at one point saying "oh, sounds fun!  How hard can it be?"

yah.

The answer is "a lot harder than I could have ever imagined." but it was also more fun than I expected.  

I enjoyed it so much, I have ideas for future videos.  Some of these might take a couple of years, but I've started filming and planning and scheming... 

It's going to be a fun adventure.

If you like this sort of thing and want to see more of it, here are some things you can do to support me on my youtube journey.

- go to youtube and give me a thumbs up!  Or even a subscribe!  That would be awesome
- or pop over to my Etsy shop and support me that way.

Homegrown Linen: transforming flaxseed into fibre

Ever wondered how to grow your own yarn?

Flax gives us two harvests from one plant.  The seeds and the cloth - and yes, you can get both from the same harvest no matter what They tell you.  How do I know this?  Because I've been obsessing about flax for years and decided to find out what is really possible and what bits of advice are just superstition.

Spoiler alert: most of it is superstition.  

Flax is way more versatile than it looks.  You can get cloth from seed flax and you can get delicious seed from fibre flax.  

So now you know what I've been up to all these months.  A crazy adventure writing and creating a book.  

There are a few days left on my Kickstarter where you can pre-order the book Homegrown Linen: transforming flaxseed into fibre at a discount.  

We are hoping to have it available in stores in February.

If you want to order a book or carry the book in your store, you can find me at:

Crowing Hen Farm