From field to fibre

Spring sowing of flax. It is sown densely, because a dense stand forces tall, weakly branched stems — and these give the longest fibre.

Flax is pulled with its roots, not cut — mowing would leave the fibre in the lower part of the stem. This is the basic difference from cereals.

For retting to be even on both sides of the swath, the swath must be turned. The turner rotates two swaths at once, keeping retting quality uniform across the field.

Bales of retted flax straw go to the processing plant — the scutching mill — where fibre recovery begins.

Long fibre is the most valuable textile raw material from flax — it determines the value of the whole chain.

Yarn is used to make woven and knitted linen fabrics. Textiles account for around 90% of fibre flax uses; the rest goes to composites and technical materials.