Emery Smith Studio

To process my flax at home, I used the mini kit I purchased from Brigitte at Let’s Grow Flax consisting of a metal comb and square wooden dowel.

The first step is breaking. I took small bundles of flax and bent them around the dowel at regular intervals to break the stem. This I repeated up and down the stalk until the flax became more flexible and I was able to wrap the bundle around my hand to secure it.

The next step is scutching. I held the flax bundle against my leg and scraped the dowel along the stems. This causes the woody parts to start falling away and I repeat the process, shaking out the woody pieces until there are none left. I had to use my fingers to pick out the more stubborn pieces.

Then I started combing the flax, using the metal comb. Feels just like brushing my daughters tangled hair! Once the flax passes through the metal comb easily,  I then pass it through a hand carder. This separates and aligns the fibres.

The resultant long lengths of fibre is called line fibre and is considered the best quality. The shorter pieces which are left in the combs can be removed and combed again. The longer lengths are called rehackled line fibre, and the shorter pieces are called tow fibre.