Workshop Overview

Flax in the Field is part of our Flax to Linen mini series, which teaches students to grow, process, and spin flax to linen, taught by Andrea Myklebust.

In the first of this two-workshop series, we will discuss the process of sourcing textile flax seed, how to prepare your soil, methods of planting and cultivating, how to harvest fiber flax, and different ways of retting flax prior to processing. There will be time for students to get hands-on experience with the traditional hand tools (flax break, scutching board and knife, hackles) used in preparing flax fiber for spinning into linen. We will present an overview of flax-related research and development work taking place around North America and beyond. This workshop is a companion class to Flax to Linen: Handspinning Flax into Linen Yarn. Students are welcome to sign up for one or both of these workshops.

Skills + Techniques

Students will learn:

• Where to source fiber flax seed
• How to plant, grow, and harvest textile flax
• Techniques for seed saving
• Retting processes; both dew and tank/water retting
• How to use a flax break, scutching board/knife, hackles
• Where to purchase or find plans to build their own processing tools

Instructor

Andrea Myklebust

Tools + Materials

Students should bring:

• No special tools or equipment are required for this workshop, but students should wear easy-to-move-in clothing and comfortable shoes
• If a student has samples of their own flax that they have grown, they are welcome to bring this along to class

Material Fee:

• $24.00 paid at time of workshop

COVID-19 

• Please read our COVID-19 Policy prior to registering
• We are honoring each instructor’s specific COVID-19 safety requests. For this workshop, your instructor reserves the right to require additional safety requirements depending on the state of the pandemic at the time of the workshop

Housing + Meals

Housing and meals will be available on-site in 2022. We will let all registered students know when housing registration is open. Spots will be first-come, first serve. The option to choose meals will be open to all students. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

$225.00 / per student