Flax plants

 

We've been providing you with fabrics made of linen and a composition of cotton and hemp in the qualities Sweat and Jersey for a while now – and of course we are very happy about that, as so many of you have been waiting longingly for it. Regionality is extremely important to us, because ultimately the ecological balance of a sustainable material can also be pretty bad if it has to travel thousands of kilometers. The region between northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands is best suited for growing flax. The soils there are particularly rich in nutrients, loamy and deep and the mild climate of the North Sea with a perfect harmony of sun and rain is good for the plant. A look back at history reveals that flax has apparently been at home here for thousands of years.

According to the current state of knowledge, flax is the oldest textile fiber – finds suggest that it was already around 35,000BC. that it's been processed into clothing. Incidentally, an incredible number of idioms can be traced back to flax and its processing. The famous trip into the unknown blue, as we say in German, has nothing to do with good weather and blue skies, but with the beautiful flowers of the flax plant. We have traced the annual cycle of the plant and the process through to the finished fabric for you and invite you – you guessed it – to a journey into the blue.

START IN MARCH · For the flax plant, March is the start of a new season – so while you reading this, the farmers are carefully on the lookout to see whether the fields are ready for sowing. They know the change of the seasons better than anyone else and know what to look out for. Extreme cold and fluctuating temperatures are a no-go and only when the last night frost has disappeared, seeds are sown. After around three months, the plant is already one meter high.

BLOOMING IN JUNE · In June, the flax begins to bloom, which is a real attraction – the drive into the blue references the beautiful sky blue of the flowers, which in most cases only bloom for a single day!

PULLING IN JULY · When the flowers have disappeared in July, the flax can be harvested. »Pull« would be the more correct expression, because flax is not cut, but rather carefully pulled out of the ground by machines. It is then placed in rows on the field and prepared for the subsequent retting process.

RETTING · Retting is about gradually dissolving the pectins contained in the plant stalks – through an alternation of sun, rain and dew, which release important microorganisms such as bacteria. This process takes a lot of patience: it can take up to six weeks to complete the retting. Incidentally, it is also good for the soil, because all the dissolved components of the fiber are released back into the soil, which is perfectly prepared for the next season.

HARVEST IN SEPTEMBER · After the retting, the flax is tied together by machines and stored for a short time in large bales in the fields – just in time for late summer in September.

PROCESSING · Then it goes to the processing of the fiber. The so-called scutching and hackling are the first steps in using machines to free the flax fibers from wood-like particles, the shives. Incidentally, the expression that something looks shabby comes exactly from this and indicates that something has not been cleaned sufficiently.

SPINNING, WEAVING & FINISH · After everything has been cleaned, the fibers are combed with a hackle, separating short fibers and the high-quality, longer fibers. The latter form the basis for any high-quality linen fabric and are essential for the production of a good yarn. During spinning, fibers from different regions are mixed in order to end up with the most homogeneous yarn possible. These are then woven and finished in Belgium in order to achieve a high-quality feel and look. The fabrics are also dyed or bleached in this last step.