Flax Update!

Just a quick update on the flax retting we have been doing.

We had a couple of problems with the sunny weather and a constant breeze drying out our retting pond.  In future we will dig retting ponds in sheltered, shaded location (part of the fun of experimenting is learning these little, but very important things!). 

The flax retted well and is now standing upright, under shelter, drying out.  Once its dried out we will bash the fibres free from the pith and have linen fibre ready for spinning.

I will post more photo's when we do this! 

We were also very impressed by the 'dew' retting process (the flax was just lain flat on grass).  It took a bit longer, but the fibres seem to be of equal quality.  We have kept the two bundles separate and process them separately too and report on any variation.