We asked Flaxland from Stroud to come along and show us about how the flax plant becomes linen yarn. It proved to be a fascinating and informative day long workshop.

Starting with talk about the history of flax in Britain, how it arrived, how it was used and how the introduction of cotton took over, participants then learned about its many uses, from its importance to the sailing ship industry, which relied on flax ropes for rigging and sailcloth, to the making of fine linen cloth for domestic use.In the second part of the day participants had the chance to work the flax from dry stalks to flax fibre that was then spun into yarn using a drop spindle, fun and frustrating in equal measure. Someone commented that they now knew why it was called a drop spindle as it fell to the floor for the umpteenth time.

Flax workshop tutored by Simon and Ann from Flaxland U.K. was held at Vallis Farm in Frome on June 16th 2023
21 people participated