From flax to linen. Experiments with flax - Ribe VikingeCenter

Flax
Common flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) is a member of the family Linaceae, of which the genus
Linum is the most common with more than 200 species (Høst 1982). The plant can grow to a good
metre and has one or more slender stalks with relatively short lanceolate leaves. A short taproot
has fibrous branches that may extend up to a metre in the ground, depending on soil conditions.
Its Latin name means “very useful”, which it is, producing both edible seeds and spinnable fibres.
The plant is a cultured form, which does not grow in nature, and is most likely developed from
Linum Bienne (Mill.) (Helbæk 1959).
Flax can be grown both for its seeds and for its fibres. Today the plant exists in two variants:
Linum usitatissimum Humile (or L.u. crepitans) and Linum usitatissimum vulgare. The Humile
variant is grown for its seeds. It is generally shorter, with larger leaves, and has a higher tendency
to tiller. More stalks means more seeds per plant, which is beneficial in this production. With the
vulgare variant, which is used for fibre production, tillering is less prevalent. It is also less
desirable, as a single straight stalk from each plant produces the best quality fibre. It is not known
when these two variants have separated, but it is generally assumed that this has happened in
relatively recent times (Brøndegaard 1979).
Figure 4. Cross section of flax stem (Zienkiewitz & Fröier 1979, here from Pallesen 1996).
The flax stem is a few millimetres thick and consists of several layers. The outside of the stalk
is protected by an epidermis. Inside this outer layer, the fibres lie in bundles, each with 10-40
single fibres. It is these fibres that are used in textile production. The number of fibre bundles
varies with climate, soil and other growing conditions. The fibres and bundles are held together
with pectin and lignin. The fibre is a cellulose polymer, but its structure is crystalline, making the
fabric strong and crisp, and more prone to wrinkle (Kers et al. 2010).
Inside the fibre bundles the shives make the woody core of the plant. They must be removed
before the plant can be used. Finally there is an inner hollow space in the centre of the stalks,
making the plant relatively light.
The fibres of flax are very strong, while also being long and smooth, and this gives a fine
thread which is highly absorbent and a good heat conductor, so the fabric feels both cool and
pleasant against the skin (Hodges 1989: 123). These properties make the flax textiles very well
suited for warm weather or as undergarments. When flax fibres get wet, their strength increases
by 20% (Kers et al. 2010), which also makes them well suited for maritime uses, such as lines and
sails. For such uses the coarser fibres (tow), that are less valuable in making clothes, are very
suitable.
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