Flax in the Round

During 2024 Alice led a project to grow flax at Kestle Barton, on the Lizard, Cornwall. A series of hands-on events enabled others to come and help with the various stages of growing and processing, learning about this fascinating plant.

Alice received funding from the Theo Moorman Trust for Weavers to buy flax processing equipment and towards developing a new body of flax focused artwork. This new work will be shown at Kestle Barton in 2025, titled Flaxen.

Flax (Linum usitatissimum) has been grown for linen by many cultures worldwide over thousands of years. The nature of flax’s ‘bast’ fibres, which are long and strong, make it one of the most important fibre crops throughout history. Flax is shallow rooted and grows well in our northern European climate. There are various steps of processing to remove the spinnable fibres from the other parts of the plant. It is ready to pull up around 100 days after sowing. The seeds are removed – called ‘rippling’ – and the plants are left to ‘ret’, after which the fibre can be removed through a series of steps including breaking, skutching and hackling. This leave us with long ‘line’ fibre and the rougher ‘tow’, both of which can be spun into linen thread.

Fottage filmed by Kestle Barton staff (below left) shows the ground being prepared for sowing flax seeds.