Flax And Linen

Linen and Flax.
Good evening sweet friends.
Did you all enjoy the first full day of Fall?
This is my latest buy that I am dedicating
a full post on.
Do you know what this item is?

If you guessed a flax comb....you are correct.
Sharp...YES
Look at all those sharp teeth.
The box in the back was used to place 
over the sharp nails when not in use.

These were important in the use of 
locking, straightening and cleaning flax.
Basically this is the last step to prepare 
flax for spinning into linen.

What makes this flax comb very special to me,
is the date punched in.
Can you see it?
1829.

Once the flax was combed out or heckled,
it was then spun on a flax winder like this one...
and made into linen.
Once it was spun, it was stretched and boiled
to set the twist put in by spinning.
It was then weaved into linen.
Bleaching occurred before or after the weaving was done,
by leaving it out in prolonged direct sunlight
or using chemicals like lye soap or chloride of lime.

Close up of my hank of flax.

Oh by the way, the flax comb in an earlier pic
was sitting on a piece of bleached white linen.

There is your bit of history on flax & linen.

Next week I will announce my
Halloween giveaway...so stayed tuned.

Linen & Flax Blessings To All!
Janice