Schumacher Linen

May 2022 ​

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While volunteering at Schumacher College, a progressive and holistic college for ecological studies, I embarked on a self-directed flax fibre project. The aim was to create a swatch of linen using the flax that had been grown and harvested in the fields around the college.

 

Flax featured in the curriculums for both the Growers and Engaged Ecology courses at Schumacher. As a volunteer I was fortunate that the processing tools were available to use and the flax hung harvested in the barn. A piece of linen fabric, however tiny, was asking to be made. 

 

I went through the process of re-retting, scutching and carding the flax until I had a workable fibre. I then used a drop spindle (and very make-shift distaff!) to spin a yarn. An improvised miniature loom meant I could weave a tiny swatch just before my time was up. Taking one material through the whole process from dried plant to spun and woven fibre was transformative for me. The smallest thing I have ever made but probably my favourite.  ​

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