"Sys how is your decent into fiber arts hell going"
Glad you asked. I have arrived at 'modern flax is Bullshit compared to what we had in historical textiles, the flax widely available for handspinning is basically the tow that would be discarded from textile creation and used with tar to caulk ships back in the day'
This naturally led me down a hole of 'why is the staple length of this stuff a bullshit 6 inches' and the answer is 'we have bred modern flax more for the oil than the fiber because cotton usurped the place of everyday textile thanks to slavery and the cotton gin'
Anyway, THIS led me to a rabbit hole that culminated in me finding flax seed bred for proper 30 inch tall plants for fiber, sold by some fellow minded nerds on a website that has not been updated since 1998 and you have to email them to buy anything.
Anyway how are all of you doing.
I FAILED YOU ALL here is the site. You can also buy flax fiber from them. The PROPER shit, not the hot garbage ass tow fiber sold as flax top for handspinners.
'machine combing shortens the flax fibers by several inches'
This right here is part of why modern linen is a pale shadow of historical linen. Legitimately it cannot be properly replicated by machines. It HAS to be made by human hands if you want the best quality.
Oh hey update. Don't use this website for flax seed purchasing. It's a failed cult.
This one, however, is a bit more legit.
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Oh damn thanks man good catch.
Reblogging this
I don't know if I would call them a failed cult, honestly. Having grown up near hermitage, they never presented themselves as more than a gay Moravian compound, with some nifty little gnosto-Christian flavors here and there based off some late American folklore.
The negative connotations in that person's comment, at least in my personal, actual experience living in the area, are unfounded.
