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Processing flax
Oct. 5th, 2011 10:15 pmObject: Starting with three bundles of dried flax plants, end up with clean linen fiber ready to spin.
The whole plants are pulled up, roots and all, and hung in bundles until they become perfectly dry. Then the round seed pods are removed, in a process called "rippling." A handful at a time, the flax stems are pulled through a coarse comb that pops the seedheads off so they fall into a tub or other container. I didn't have a rippling comb, and suspect that seeds would fly all over. Instead I just used my hands. It worked adequately.
The linen fiber is the phloem tubules found under the outer bark of the flax plant. To separate these tiny capillary fibers from the rest of the bark and pith, we immerse the dried plant in water for a few days. Bacterial action does the separation for us. That's as far as I got with the process today. The plants are under water now. Tomorrow I have t4o drain the pool entirely and refill it. After that, half the water is replaced each day as needed. ending when the bark peels easily and the fibers separate to some extent on their own.
That's what is in progress here. The middle bundle still needs to be weighted down so that all the stems are under water.
While I sat out on the deck cross-legged, pulling seed pods off and collecting them, it occurred to me that anyone watching me would probably assume that I was cleaning marijuana. I assure you, this stuff is flax. And what I did with it probably proves that it is not some illegal drug.
The whole plants are pulled up, roots and all, and hung in bundles until they become perfectly dry. Then the round seed pods are removed, in a process called "rippling." A handful at a time, the flax stems are pulled through a coarse comb that pops the seedheads off so they fall into a tub or other container. I didn't have a rippling comb, and suspect that seeds would fly all over. Instead I just used my hands. It worked adequately.
The linen fiber is the phloem tubules found under the outer bark of the flax plant. To separate these tiny capillary fibers from the rest of the bark and pith, we immerse the dried plant in water for a few days. Bacterial action does the separation for us. That's as far as I got with the process today. The plants are under water now. Tomorrow I have t4o drain the pool entirely and refill it. After that, half the water is replaced each day as needed. ending when the bark peels easily and the fibers separate to some extent on their own.
That's what is in progress here. The middle bundle still needs to be weighted down so that all the stems are under water.
While I sat out on the deck cross-legged, pulling seed pods off and collecting them, it occurred to me that anyone watching me would probably assume that I was cleaning marijuana. I assure you, this stuff is flax. And what I did with it probably proves that it is not some illegal drug.
