What is scutching? Scutching is the process of taking off all the outer parts of the flax plant to leave the long fibres. We do this once the harvested flax has been retted, dried and broken using our old, refurbished flax scutcher. You can read more about the full process here. Scutching would have been […]
The weird mystery of the Frankenstein flax scutcher Read More »
Flax flowers on Irish LInen When and why did Northern Ireland’s capital city, Belfast become known as ‘Linenopolis’? Linen production was once a huge industry across the entire island of Ireland, accounting for almost sixty per cent of Ireland’s exports by the end of the eighteenth century. Production moved from a domestic cottage industry and
Linenopolis – When Belfast Led The World In Linen Production Read More »
While this year’s crop of flax is around halfway through its growing period, we are still busy with retting last year’s crop. Retting is the process of breaking down the flax to separate the fibre from the outer layers. This can be done by spreading the flax over the fields to be retted by the dew or
Upcycling a cheese vat for a circular, regenerative textile system Read More »
Mallon Farm is around fifty acres and has always been nature friendly throughout its history. It was a mixed farm for years and even when, like many other farms here, it moved more towards dairy, it was never on an intensive scale. We benefit now from all the old meadows, mature trees and hedgerows that
Sowing flax for fibre; a revival of Irish Grown Linen Read More »
Traditionally, flax is harvested 100 days after being sown. So far that has been our experience here at Mallon Farm, in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. However, in 2021, a mix of strong sunshine and heavy rain meant that the flax ripened quicker than usual and some collapsed under the rain. So we made the decision
The flax harvest rescued from the rain – almost Read More »
