The flowers are pure pale blue, 15–25 mm in diameter, with five petals. The Sumerians: Their history, culture and character, Learn how and when to remove this template message, laboratory paper (blotting and filter), rolling paper, "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species", "These Vintage Threads Are 30,000 Years Old", CRS Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition - Order Code 97-905, "Pigments through the Ages - Renaissance and Baroque (1400-1600)", "Effect of processing flax in beef feedlot diets on performance, carcass characteristics, and trained sensory panel ratings", "Full Report (All Nutrients): 12220, Seeds, flaxseed per 100 g", "Flax and flaxseed oil: an ancient medicine & modern functional food", "Does ground flaxseed have more health benefits than whole flaxseed? The plants then pass over the machine and is placed on the field crosswise to the harvesters direction of travel. This is a natural plant that generally has a more eco friendly growing and harvesting stage than say for example cotton, or compared to the making a synthetic fibre like polyester. [12] The Sumerian poem of the courtship of Inanna mentions flax and linen.[13]. SCUTCHING FLAX. High-quality linen fabrics are now produced in the United States for the upholstery market and in Belgium. Online Etymology Dictionary. Dressing the flax is the process of removing the straw from the fibers. The couche is heavily dusted with flour which is rubbed into the pores of the fabric. [49] Other major producers were Canada, Russia, and China (table). Introduction. The collective term "linens" is still often used generically to describe a class of woven or knitted bed, bath, table and kitchen textiles traditionally made of flax-based linen but today made from a variety of fibers. The plants are left in the field for field retting. The brake, a large wooden machine, is used to break down the trash material and loosen it further from the end product. [15][16] Linen was sometimes used as a form of currency in ancient Egypt. This word history has given rise to a number of other terms in English, most notably line, from the use of a linen (flax) thread to determine a straight line. The meal is an adequate and traditional source of protein for rabbits at 8-10%. [citation needed] When the tomb of Tutankhamen was opened, the linen curtains were found to be intact. Routledge, p. 124, Buchanan R. (2012) "A Weaver's Garden: Growing Plants for Natural Dyes and Fibers". [44] Like many common foods, flax contains small amounts of cyanogenic glycoside,[45] which is nontoxic when consumed in typical amounts, but may be toxic when consumed in large quantities as with staple foods such as cassava. [19] The high omega-3 content also has a further disadvantage, because this fatty acid oxidises and goes rancid quickly, which shortens the storage time. [1], There are many references to linen throughout the Bible, reflecting the textile's entrenched presence in human cultures. Thus linen is considerably more expensive to manufacture than cotton. It is smooth, making the finished fabric lint-free, and gets softer the more it is washed. The trade spread throughout Germany by the 9th century and spread to Flanders and Brabant by the 11th century. The inner layer of fine composite cloth garments (as for example dress jackets) was traditionally made of linen, hence the word lining.[40]. Flax, plant of the family Linaceae, cultivated both for its fiber, from which linen is made, and for its nutritious seeds, from which linseed oil is obtained. [7][8], Fragments of straw, seeds, fibers, yarns, and various types of fabrics, including linen samples, dating to about 8,000 BC have been found in Swiss lake dwellings. [6], The discovery of dyed flax fibers in a cave in Southeastern Europe (present-day Georgia) dated to 36,000 years ago suggests that ancient people used wild flax fibers to create linen-like fabrics from an early date. This is the number of 1,000 m lengths per kilogram. Soil pH– Neutral Flax belongs to the family Linaceae; its botanical name is Linum Usitatissimum (Flax). [11] It was used mainly by the wealthier class of the society, including priests. [30] The homespun movement encouraged the use of flax to make home spun textiles. [57] Canadian flaxseed cultivars were reconstituted with 'Triffid'-free seed used to plant the 2014 crop. SCUTCHING FLAX. [32], In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, linen was very significant to Russia and its economy. A 100-gram portion of ground flaxseed supplies about 534 calories (2,230 kJ), 41 g of fat, 28 g of fiber, and 20 g of protein. This is a Latin expression and means “most useful”. The flax stalks are processed using traditional cotton machinery; however, the finished fibers often lose the characteristic linen look. Traditionally, the process involved many members of a family. ", "Linen Fiber and Linen Fabrics from the Flax Plants", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Linen&oldid=990781341, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2016, Articles with incomplete citations from January 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 26 November 2020, at 13:41. When the straw is retted and sufficiently dry, it is rolled up. The specific epithet, usitatissimum, means "most useful".[18]. This is not an issue in meal cake due to the processing temperature during oil extraction. This wear can show up in collars, hems, and any area that is iron creased during laundering. Check out our flax linen plant selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. Flax is also grown as an ornamental plant in gardens. For example, a yarn having a size of 1 lea will give 300 yards per pound. New. In England and then in Germany, industrialization and machine production replaced manual work and production moved from the home to new factories. Difficulty— Easy. Flax processing is divided into two parts: the first part is generally done by the farmer, to bring the flax fiber into a fit state for general or common purposes. Flax contains hundreds of times more lignans than other plant foods.[38]. Use of the crop steadily spread, reaching as far as Switzerland and Germany by 5,000 years ago. After the fibers have been separated and processed, they are typically spun into yarns and woven or knit into linen textiles. Flax fibers taken from the stem of the plant are two to three times as strong as cotton fibers. Linen is relatively easy to take care of, since it resists dirt and stains, has no lint or pilling tendency, and can be dry-cleaned, machine-washed, or steamed. Flax fibers can usually be identified by their “nodes” which add to the flexibility and texture of the fabric. Solvent-processed flaxseed oil has been used for many centuries as a drying oil in painting and varnishing.[23]. In September 2009, Canadian flax exports reportedly had been contaminated by a deregistered genetically modified cultivar called 'Triffid' that had food and feed safety approval in Canada and the U.S.,[54][55] however, Canadian growers and the Flax Council of Canada raised concerns about the marketability of this cultivar in Europe where a zero tolerance policy exists regarding unapproved genetically modified organisms. It can be retted in a pond, stream, field, or tank. [28], After crushing the seeds to extract linseed oil, the resultant linseed meal is a protein-rich feed for ruminants, rabbits, and fish. [41] Conversely, some brands such as 100% Capri specially treat the linen to look like denim.[42]. University of Minnesota, 2003, "Profiles of 15 of the world's major plant and animal fibres", "Linen Most Useful: Perspectives on Structure, Chemistry, and Enzymes for Retting Flax", Flax and Linen Textiles in the Mycenaean palatial economy, "Flax to Fabric: The Story of Irish Linen", "The Development of Textile Technology: Inside the TextilTechnikum (Textile Technology Center) in Monforts Quartier, Mönchengladbach", "Background history of Linen from the flax in the field to finished linen cloth", "What Is Linen? It can only be added at low percentages due to the high fat content, which is unhealthy for ruminants. At one time it was the country's greatest export item and Russia produced about 80% of the world's fiber flax crop. The symbol is NeL. Before the flax fibers can be spun into linen, they must be separated from the rest of the stalk. Princeton University Press, p.12, Cullis C. (2007) "Oilseeds" Springer, p. 275, Sekhri S. (2011) "Textbook of Fabric Science: Fundamentals to Finishing". Men were usually responsible for seeding while women took charge of weeding as the plants grew. The linen industry was increasingly critical in the economies of Europe[28][29] in the 18th and 19th centuries. [41] Another meta-analysis has shown that consumption of flaxseed for more than 12 weeks produced small reductions in systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. A combine harvester may either cut only the heads of the plants, or the whole plant. Brown linen seeds, flaxseed oil and.. [36][37] Flaxseed oil contains 53% 18:3 omega-3 fatty acids (mostly ALA) and 13% 18:2 omega-6 fatty acids. Harvesting Linen Flax. [19], Flaxseeds occur in two basic varieties/colors: brown or yellow (golden linseeds). An alternate production method is known as “cottonizing” which is quicker and requires less equipment. The cross-section of the linen fiber is made up of irregular polygonal shapes which contribute to the coarse texture of the fabric.[45]. If the water is any colder, it takes longer. [5], People in various parts of the world began weaving linen at least several thousand years ago. This is a specific length therefore an indirect measurement of the fineness of the linen, i.e., the number of length units per unit mass. [33], In Judaism, the only law concerning which fabrics may be interwoven together in clothing concerns the mixture of linen and wool, called shaatnez; it is restricted in Deuteronomy 22:11 "Thou shalt not wear a mingled stuff, wool and linen together" and Leviticus 19:19, "...neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together." Then the shaped dough is placed on the couche. Linen fabric is one of the preferred traditional supports for oil painting. At this stage, many new raw materials are sourced, as we purify the longest flax fiber for further use. [13] Phoenicians traded Egyptian linen throughout the Mediterranean and the Romans used it for their sails. This generally takes two or three weeks longer than pond retting, but the end product is less likely to be dirty, does not smell as bad, and because the water is cooler, is less likely to be over-retted. Dictionary.com. Its fibers derive from the flax plant, also called Linum Usitatissimum. Dyed flax fibers found in a cave in Southeastern Europe (present-day Georgia) suggest the use of woven linen fabrics from wild flax may date back over 30,000 years. Growing the flax group from seed is a very easy and rewarding gardening project as its both durable and beautiful. To grow well, flax as a crop needs water and a rich soil and frequent weeding. The history of linen goes way back and the flax crop already exists for thousands of years. Mildew, perspiration, and bleach can damage the fabric, but because it is not made from animal fibers (keratin) it is impervious to clothes moths and carpet beetles. THE FLAX PLANT. Linen textiles appear to be some of the oldest in the world; their history goes back many thousands of years. Linen is a bast fiber. The earliest evidence of humans using wild flax as a textile comes from the present-day Republic of Georgia, where spun, dyed, and knotted wild flax fibers found in Dzudzuana Cave date to the Upper Paleolithic, 30 thousand years ago. Where to find linen seed? [48] Flax is often found growing just above the waterline in cranberry bogs. The plant species is known only as a cultivated plant, and ap… Common flax is the national flower of Belarus. A similar mill was constructed in Scio in 1890. [12] Egyptian priests wore only linen, as flax was considered a symbol of purity. Linen is a natural cellulose fiber and comes from the inside of the stalks of the flax plant. This can be performed by three machines: one for threshing out the seed, one for breaking and separating the straw (stem) from the fiber, and one for further separating the broken straw and matter from the fiber. The significant cost of linen derives not only from the difficulty of working with the thread but also because the flax plant itself requires a great deal of attention. The qualities of Linen fabric makes it one of the most sought-after textiles in the world – … If the water temperature is kept at 80 °F (27 °C), the retting process under these conditions takes 4 or 5 days. The quality of the finished linen product is often dependent upon growing conditions and harvesting techniques. The standard measure of bulk linen yarn is the "lea", which is the number of yards in a pound of linen divided by 300. It is an edible oil obtained by expeller pressing and sometimes followed by solvent extraction. [19][29] One study found that feeding flax seeds may increase omega-3 content in beef, while another found no differences. All . ... #151952796 - Flax seeds and flax oil. In the next post on the Linen Craft series we have a look at the following step: scutching and hackling. GRN 000280", "Grow and Harvest Flax - Materials Matter 2016", "Flax (linseed) production in 2018; Crops/Regions/World List/Production Quantity (from pick lists)", "The last straw: nine ways to handle flax straw", "Flax growers try to flush Triffid from system", "Sampling and Testing Protocol for Canadian Flaxseed Exported to the European Union", "Canada moves to revive flax exports after GMO flap", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flax&oldid=992138940, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from May 2020, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 3 December 2020, at 18:28. 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