Initially I had hoped to meet Amanda in person for our first tuition meeting, but alas, the diary gods weren’t with us. So we meet online for a chat where Amanda kindly evaluated the 'Lets Grow Flax' fibre quality, my processing techniques, and the first spinning samples I had bravely prepared and sent off prior to our chat alongside the fibre samples. Although this meant a four week delay to my estimated spinning date of the Lets Grow Flax fibre, I realised that a bit more practice was in order anyway.
To my great delight (and slight disbelief), Amanda found my initial attempts at spinning flax to be "not too bad at all"—a pleasant surprise that I hadn’t anticipated. It was a promising start! We discussed both the the towel spun and from the fold spun yarn samples. Although the latter turned out slightly better on this occasion, Amanda pointed out that flax fibres are generally too strong to bend smoothly into a fold, making this technique less suitable for my project.
When we turned our attention to the towel-spun yarn, I explained that I had chosen the smoothest cloth I could find. However, Amanda commented that this wasn’t ideal. Instead, a towel with a bit of grip is better, as it prevents the fibres from slipping out all at once - which is exactly what happened to me.
Next, we moved on to discuss some technical aspects of spinning, specifically staple length and twist.
Staple length:
Since I mainly work with bast fibres, I considered a fibre length of 6"-8" a short fibre length, simply as flax line fibre can be up to 1 meter long. Turns out, as most spinning literature talks about wool, 6" - 8" is still quite long. As the general spinning advice is to add more twist to short fibres, I was overspinning the shorter flax fibres.
Since I mainly work with bast fibres, I considered a fibre length of 6"-8" a short fibre length, simply as flax line fibre can be up to 1 meter long. Turns out, as most spinning literature talks about wool, 6" - 8" is still quite long. As the general spinning advice is to add more twist to short fibres, I was overspinning the shorter flax fibres.
Twist:
Overspinning the yarn means I have too much twist in my yarn, probably about 30 degrees. Amanda recommended to aim at 20 degrees for the shorter fibre and perhaps even less for the longer fibre. Flax has a strong internal texture, so spinning it with a higher angle could make it wiry, and a cloth woven with such yarn could end up with the drape of cardboard, as in none :0
Line Fibre vs Tow:
In order to prepare for the meeting, I read up on bast fibre spinning. One thing I could not figure out exactly was the difference between line fine (the long fibres) and tow (the shorter fibres). After all, when you clean the longer fibres in a hackle, the shorter ones can still be a good 30cm to 60cm long. So, is that re-hackled line fibre or tow? Amanda agreed that these terms can be a bit fluid, often depending on the fibre's quality. Tow is generally shorter, kinkier fibre that spins into thicker yarn, while re-hackled longer fibres that can be spun finely might still be considered line fibre.
Fibre sample and processing evaluation
Amanda was kind enough to evaluate a variety of fibre samples, both in terms of the quality produced by our group and my own processing efforts. The good news? Our Let's Grow Flax fibre quality is, by and large, quite acceptable!
Considering that most of our group were first-time flax growers, and that we faced a challenging year with rain and heat arriving at all the wrong times of the year, this was a wonderful news. We pulled the flax at 90 days—slightly early, as 100 days is usually recommended. But after evaluating all 10 fibre samples, Amanda thought some of our flax was actually quite good. I was thrilled to pass on the good news to the other group members.
As for the quality of my processing, Amanda thought it was decent but suggested some fine-tuning. While the fibres were generally clean and well-separated, there were areas where the separation was inconsistent. After discussing equipment, Amanda recommended adding a finer hackle to my toolkit, using it as the final step before carding the fibres.
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So here is a short summary of my learnings:
- The general advice in spinning literature doesn't always apply to bast fibre spinning, so it was helpful to contextualise my reading.
- To create soft linen yarn, it's important to keep the twist close to a 20-degree angle.
- When assessing fibre quality, focus more on the quality rather than the length of the fibre.
- Additionally, fine-tuning fibre processing to consistently split fibres into individual strands will improve the overall result.
Next:
Off the suggestions Amanda made, I decided to go for a fine hackle. At £250, it seemed a bit steep for what looked like a wooden board with a few nails sticking out. Although I completely trust in Amanda’s advice, I couldn’t resist double-checking with a very experienced flax spinner who also grows and processes their own flax, to understand what they made of the fine hackle. The feedback was nothing but enthusiastic about the difference the piece of equipment made to the quality of the fibre, so I went ahead and purchased the hackle.
N.B.
On arrival I could see why the price was entirely justified. The board is crafted from the finest hardwood which keeps all nails firmly in place, also the steel pins are tapered all the way to the bottom and razor sharp. It made a notable difference to the quality of the processed fibre—an investment well worth making.
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