Traditional cultivation, processing and spinning of flax

Location	Finland
Tags	flax, cultivation, fibre crops, fibre flax, plant fibres, handicrafts, craft tradition

Practitioners and people who know the tradition well

Processing flax from sowing the seed to a finished linen yarn involves many different stages of work. These are maintained by various hobby groups and associations, private individuals and museums.

Many private enthusiasts have played an important role in reviving and preserving the flax tradition. One example is Leena Pesu and her company linenstories.fi. In recent years, new enthusiasts have been encouraged to join through projects organised, for example, by Taitoliitto. The Neliömetri pellavaa (“One Square Metre of Flax”) project inspired hundreds of enthusiasts around Finland to try growing and processing fibre flax. A small number of people share their hobby on social media; currently one of the most active is Laura Vilppola @craftsbylauraelina. The Facebook group Harrastuksena pellava (“Flax as a hobby”) currently has 140 active members.

Among communities, important actors maintaining the flax tradition include the Taito Organisation and Rural Women's Advisory Organization and its local associations. Flax-processing and spinning circles are also organised for interested participants in adult education centres.

An important maintainer of the flax tradition is Korteniemi Heritage Farm, owned by Metsähallitus and located in Liesjärvi National Park. At Korteniemi, events are organised in which all visitors, from children to older people, can take part in the stages of flax processing. As a result of these events, a regular volunteer group of more than ten people, known as the “Korteniemi poppoo”, has also formed around the farm.

Other museums that maintain the flax tradition include Kuralan Kylämäki in Turku, the Seurasaari Open-Air Museum in Helsinki and the Väinöntalo local heritage museum in Evijärvi. The Finnish Museum of Agriculture Sarka in Loimaa also collects, preserves and maintains objects, oral history and the experiences of present-day practitioners related to traditional flax processing.

Practising of the tradition

Traditional fibre flax cultivation is practised using methods passed down from one generation to the next, as well as knowledge gained from other enthusiasts and from personal experience. There are local and personal variations in the way the tradition is practised. Particularly methods of retting flax have varied depending on the natural waters, meadows or annual snow conditions available for that purpose.

The following is a summary of instructions for processing flax given by Outileena Uotila of Korteniemi Heritage Farm: In May, in calm weather, about 1.3 kg of flaxseed is sown by hand by spreading it over one are of fertilised and well-prepared soil. The seed is harrowed or raked into the soil. It is also advisable to roll the soil. In June, weeds are removed from the field by hand. In August, about one hundred days after sowing, the flax stems are pulled up from the ground with their roots.

The flax stems are dried, after which the seed capsules are removed from the stems with a flax ripple comb. The people carrying out this work sit at the ends of a bench and pull bundles of flax through the spikes, causing the seed capsules to come loose and fall onto a large sheet spread under the ripple. The seed capsules are dried and threshed. A small batch can be threshed by beating the seed capsules placed in a cloth bag with a wooden mallet. The broken seed capsules are emptied from the bag into a shallow bowl and winnowed by blowing: the lighter chaff blows away and the seeds remain at the bottom of the bowl. In this way, the seeds are saved for sowing the following spring.

The rippled stems are retted at the bottom of a sheltered bay under weights made of boards and stones. Depending on the temperature of the water, the stems rett for just under two weeks, or until the fibre separates from the stem. Flax can also be retted on grass, on stubble fields or on snow. After retting, the wet and foul-smelling stems are dried outdoors leaning against a fence and finally dried completely on the poles of a drying barn or in a sauna. The temperature must not rise too high.

At flax-working gatherings, the flax stems are broken and scutched, that is, they are beaten using wooden breaking tools resembling benches with lids, and with smaller metal-bladed scutching tools. Breaking cuts the woody material of the flax stems and partly shakes it loose. In scutching, the aim is to remove all the woody material so that a bundle of fibre remains in the hand. In the next stage, this is hackled. The dusty stages of breaking and scutching are carried out in damp weather in a warm drying barn, and in dry weather outdoors. The flax must remain completely dry so that the fibre separates properly.

The next stage is hackling. A hackle is a board into which sharp, thin nails or spikes have been driven densely over an area of about 10 x 10 cm at the ends. When the fibre bundle is pulled through the spikes, the shorter fibres, known as tow, are separated and remain in the spikes of the hackle, while the longer fibres, the line flax, remain in the hand of the person hackling.

The spinning of flax begins by laying thin layers of tow flax in a line and twisting them into a distaff resembling a bun. The flax distaff is placed on the spiked holder on the arm of the spinning wheel or tied to the wheel’s distaff with a tablet-woven band. The tow is then spun into yarn. Line flax, in turn, is twisted in thin layers around a wooden cone, called a tortti, or spun in small batches from under a belt tied around the waist. Spinning line flax is easier than spinning tow, because the long line fibres are smooth and strong.

A plied starter thread, about one metre long, is wound around the bobbin of the spinning wheel. It is threaded through the hooks, or teeth, of the wheel and through the end of the orifice towards the spinner. The spinner sits in front of the spinning wheel with one foot on the treadle. Spinning begins by turning the wheel with the right hand while the spinner starts to treadle evenly. There are two different traditions regarding the direction of flax spinning: some spin clockwise and others anticlockwise.

The spinner draws fibres from the distaff with one hand, while the other hand holds the starter thread about 10 cm above the orifice. During spinning, the upper hand draws fibres from the distaff, while the lower hand holds the point up to which twist has formed. Then the lower hand slides upwards without releasing its grip, allowing the twist to advance and more yarn to form, while the wheel simultaneously draws the yarn onto the bobbin. When spinning flax, the fingers of the lower hand are moistened with water or saliva. This is known as wet spinning, and it makes the yarn smoother and more durable.

If a thicker and stronger yarn is desired, the yarns can be plied. Plying is also done on the spinning wheel. Full bobbins are placed in a bobbin stand, or if there are not several bobbins, the yarn is wound into a ball, from which it is plied. Plying is done in the same way as spinning, but the wheel is treadled in the opposite direction from that used in spinning. Plying is much faster than spinning.

The background and history of the tradition

The flax tradition has been transmitted in an unbroken line in Finland from time immemorial to the present day. Fibre flax is known to have been cultivated in Finland already before the beginning of the Common Era. Climatically, fibre flax can be cultivated at least as far north as the latitude of Oulu, but traditional flax-processing tools have been preserved, for example, in the local heritage museums of Rovaniemi and Sodankylä. In the period of household self-sufficiency, almost every farm had a flax field, and a very large number of retting ponds associated with flax are found in different parts of southern Finland.

In some regions, such as Häme and North Karelia, high-quality flax was produced for sale to regions where flax did not suffice for household use. The first Finnish-language guides on flax cultivation were published in the early nineteenth century by Suomen talousseura (“the Economic Society of Finland”). The Society also awarded prizes for high-quality flax work.

The cultivation and processing of flax were traditionally women’s work. An exception to this was the rippling of flax and the physically heavy stage of breaking, which were carried out jointly by young women and men. The processing of flax began to become mechanised from the nineteenth century onwards, and the making of it into textiles declined as factory-made products took over the market.

The period of shortage during the Second World War revived dormant flax-processing skills and brought the tradition to new prominence. Children in rural areas could once again learn flax cultivation and flax crafts at home, and these formed an important part of the studies of home economics.

When commercially available yarns and fabrics returned to the market after the wars, many housewives put their spinning wheels up in the attic, wishing to forget the burdens of wartime. Some women nevertheless considered flax cultivation and processing an important way of maintaining self-sufficiency in case of future crises. As late as the 1970s, dozens of skilled flax spinners could still be found for events organised, for example, by agricultural centres and Rural Women's Advisory Organization. In the 1980s, flax cultivation and processing were once again revived through a joint project of Rural Women's Advisory Organization and the 4H youth organisation.

Many expressions still used in present-day Finnish are connected with flax. The word sivistys (“civilisation” or “education”) originally referred to combing line flax; jäädä loukkuun (“to get trapped”) refers to being in a tight place, between the bottom and lid of the flax brake when breaking flax stems; and pellavapää (“flax-head”) refers to someone with light hair like fine line flax resembling hair. In this way, the history of flax processing also lives on in contemporary Finnish language.

The transmission of the tradition

The cultivation of fibre flax and the skills of flax crafts are maintained by many different actors. Depending on their possibilities, communities safeguarding the tradition can also offer space for growing flax and for transmitting knowledge and skills. A good example of the work done by heritage associations and local heritage museums is the documentary film on local flax tradition produced at the Väinöntalo Museum in Evijärvi and published on YouTube.

Seurasaaren ystävät ry (the association of friends of Seurasaari) with the support of Maatiainen ry, grow flax in the Leppälä heritage crop plot at the Seurasaari Open-Air Museum. Flax-themed events and volunteer workdays are organised annually. Traditional methods and tools are used.

The flax events at Korteniemi Heritage Farm are open and free of charge to everyone, and each year the public has the opportunity to observe and participate in the current farm tasks. Kuralan Kylämäki in Turku also organises open annual events and workshops related to flax cultivation and craft.

Many museums document and present traditional flax-processing tools and, in the best cases, can provide instructions for those interested in them. Old tools are not accessible to everyone, and the tradition also lives on as methods develop and become more diverse.

The growing number of enthusiasts also creates opportunities for craft-sector businesses that manufacture tools and materials for hobby use. Fibre flax is cultivated and sold in Finland for those who do not have the possibility to grow it themselves. In some places, knowledge and skills related to flax processing are also shared through courses at adult education centres.

A good example of practising the flax tradition on a small scale suitable for almost all interested people was the the Neliömetri pellavaa (“One Square Meter of Flax”) project carried out in 2021–2023, which was focused on revitalising the flax tradition and increasing material understanding through communal methods. The project was initiated by The Finnish Crafts Organization Taito, and its partners included Rural Women's Advisory Organization, ProAgria and the Finnish Museum of Agriculture Sarka. The Finnish Heritage Agency granted funding for the project.

As part of the project, instructions for processing and working flax were compiled and published on the website of Taito. Through local Taito associations and the local associations of Rural Women's Advisory Organization, fibre flax seed for one square metre of cultivation area was distributed to hundreds of enthusiasts. As a result of the project, Taito Varsinais-Suomi developed for schools a lecture package called Paven pellavareissu (“Pave’s Flax Journey”), which explores the history of flax in depth and offers perspectives, for example, on coping with climate anxiety. Through the project, hundreds of new enthusiasts have been encouraged to try and continue cultivating this traditional fibre crop.

The tradition is also transmitted from individual enthusiasts to others. Forums for shared discussion are found on social media, for example in Facebook hobby groups. Growing flax requires its own kind of peer support, as does the spinning of flax fibres, which differs clearly from the spinning of animal fibres. Active social media contributors include, for example, Paula “Pave” Vanne @pavepuuhaa and Laura Vilppola @craftsbylauraelina. The cultivation of fibre flax has developed into a livelihood on the farm of Leena Pesu (linenstories.fi)

Documenting of the tradition

The written documentation of the flax tradition in Finland has a long history. A considerable amount of literature on the cultivation and processing of flax using traditional methods has been published at least since the beginning of the twentieth century. The number of publications reflects, in part, the interest in and need to increase flax production and use. Significant periods include the shortage periods of the early twentieth century and the years during and after the Second World War.

During different decades, the tradition related to flax cultivation has also been documented in museum collections and presented in museum exhibitions across Finland. The objects and photographic materials of many local heritage museums also testify to the traditional processing of flax and its significance. The interest in flax cultivation and research on the subject in the 1980s and 1990s was presented, for example, in the Pellavailmiö (“Flax Phenomenon”) exhibition of the Finnish Home Industry Museum (now the Craft Museum of Finland) in 1990 and in the Pellava (“Flax”) exhibition of Saarijärvi Museum in 1994.

The image archive of the Finnish Heritage Agency and many other museums contains a large amount of photographic material related to flax cultivation, traditional processing and spinning. Material related to flax held by memory organisations (archives, libraries and museums), research institutions and associations, including objects, photographs, audiovisual material and literature, can be found through the Finna.fi search service. A large part of the material is available only by contacting the relevant organisations directly, because only a small proportion of the material has been digitised or otherwise made accessible through Finna.fi.

The present-day life of the tradition is also constantly documented on the websites and social media accounts of practitioners. Living heritage has also been documented on the website of The Finnish Crafts Organization Taito, where detailed instructions and advice are available for practising the flax tradition. Oral history collection and contemporary documentation of the flax tradition are carried out in a systematic and continuous way by the Finnish Museum of Agriculture Sarka, which records in its collections the stories and experiences of both flax growers and spinners from the present day as well.

In the material on flax cultivation documented by Sarka, the importance of knowledge passed down within a family or kin group from one generation to the next is particularly emphasised. Keen young people have interviewed their ageing relatives and received from them guidance on working with flax. Documentation work became especially active during the Neliömetri pellavaa project, but the phenomenon remains continuously on the museum’s list of themes to be documented.

Sustainable development

A domestic fibre crop and its processing into textiles by hand are ecologically and economically sustainable in comparison with synthetic fibres, fibre crops possibly produced through the exploitation of natural resources, or textiles made in unethical conditions. Growing flax and spinning it require time and labour, but this time can also be very important in social terms. The joys and difficulties of a flax hobby are shared with other practitioners in different groups, people get to know others with similar interests, and mental wellbeing is improved. Spinning, like many other crafts, can also be calming and even meditative amid a busy everyday life. In preserving and transmitting the tradition, passing the tradition on creates intergenerational contacts whose social and cultural effects are likewise significant.

Perhaps one of the most important achievements of safeguarding the flax tradition is that it gives children and young people tools for adopting more sustainable ways of acting. When working with fibre flax and spinning it, understanding of the value of textiles and the life cycle of the clothes used every day rises to a completely new level. Greater appreciation of textiles will hopefully guide people of all ages towards more sustainable consumption behaviour in the future.

The future of the tradition

The tradition is vital. The many stages of flax cultivation offer an excellent way to become familiar with ways of life in earlier times, and with how valuable textiles once were and how much labour they required. Through personal experience, understanding of sustainable consumption grows.

Interest in self-sufficient textile production has increased significantly in recent years. There are many reasons for the revival of craft hobbies, but the unstable global situation and ecological thinking are probably among the most important. How and from what would you make your clothes if, at some point in the future, they were no longer available in shops?

The cultivation of fibre flax has revived promisingly through the renewed popularity of the hobby, and seed of fibre flax suitable for northern conditions is now available in small quantities domestically as well. Maatiainen ry sells and distributes domestic flax and heritage fibre hemp seed, shares information on fibre crops and provides guidance and assistance when needed. The association also publishes articles on the topic in its membership magazine.

Spinning as a hobby is popular worldwide, and many different models of spinning wheels are still manufactured. Making things oneself from the very beginning and understanding tradition are trends that also give flax cultivation and flax crafts a bright future. The rare, unbroken flax tradition, continuing from the distant past into the present day, is alive and flourishing in Finland.