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Mallon Linen

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What’s happening on the farm – instagram news

mallonlinen

Tradition Restarted.
Member of the Nature Friendly Farming Network.

Fibreshed Ireland Symposium in Tullamore yesterday

Fibreshed Ireland Symposium in Tullamore yesterday as part of @irish_designweek . So much care and thought went into this event by the @fibreshed_ireland team.

Speakers set out a vision for a textile system that supports the land and the community. It will celebrate our heritage but also look to the future with new materials, new processes and new business models.

The room was full of people who are already doing it. @thegalwaywoolco_op
@appleoakfibreworks @roughcirclestudio
Olann & Seol and so many more. All demonstrating that it CAN be done.

There was a special moment for us spotting that Liz O'connor @spin_me_a_yarn_ie was spinning with our flax.

@anja.sammon is doing some of the most important work, asking her students to look at the labels on their clothes and consider how they were made and the impact they have. The students response and their interest in natural fibres is something to celebrate.

There was an honest and open exchange of information, contacts, connections and experience. No showboating or competing. In the words of @kathykirwan_theartofnature Lego not Ego.

@bdtconsultancy led a short but powerful collaborative planning session where we built a vision for Fibreshed Ireland with a central theme of leaving the place better than we found it.

Thanks to Malu and Jessica. Yesterday was a big step forward.

Catching up on plenty of winter jobs this week. We

Catching up on plenty of winter jobs this week. We’ve done lots of scutching and machinery maintenance. It’s running nicely and we’ve built up stocks of processed fibre. We’ve also been busy setting up new storage areas, tidying round the farm and planning for the year ahead. #flaxtolinen #irishgrownlinen #mallonlinen #traditionrestarted #regenerativeagriculture #naturefriendlyfarming #flaxprocessing #scutching #regenerativetextiles

Processing flax in our restored scutching machine.

Processing flax in our restored scutching machine. The flax has been harvested by hand, retted in rainwater and dried before being fed into the scutching turbine. The machine breaks the stems and then removes the outer parts of the plant to leave the lovely long fibres ready for the next stages of processing…hackling, spinning and weaving. #regenerativeagriculture #flaxtolinen #irishgrownlinen #mallonlinen #traditionrestarted #scutching #flaxprocessing

What a pleasure to spend some quality time with th

What a pleasure to spend some quality time with the amazing Rosie Bristow @straw_into_gold of @fantasyfibremill. We did a LOT of talking and some hard physical labour weighing down the tonne of flax that we just put in the tank (she's strong!). We pored over our collection of research. We cooked and ate from our latest veg box from @thevegcollectiveni. Rosie tuned an old guitar and sang some songs about flax (she has a beautiful voice). We did some scutching. We shared our thoughts on the big picture for a sustainable industry and the brilliant report from @zoegilbertson. We analysed the tiny details of the machinery. We kicked around some joint project ideas. We love this natural fibre community, the open sharing and exchange of knowledge is always useful. It's so encouraging and energising to spend time with people on the same mission. #regenerativetextiles #regenerativeagriculture #sustainablefashion #sustainabletextiles #collaboration #linen #flax

We’ll do a tour of the farm to see how flax is p

We’ll do a tour of the farm to see how flax is processed from field to fibre

The flax this year has been a great lesson in resi

The flax this year has been a great lesson in resilience. It’s a reality of farming that some years are better than others. It’s why we rotate a variety of crops; not just because it’s good for soil and nature, but also because it’s good for financial resilience.

There are usually a number of reasons for a crop not thriving as well as previous years. Sometimes it’s hit by weather, like in 2021, when we had to harvest early because strong winds had caused large parts of the crop to fall. Wet weather in early May this year meant that we sowed later than usual and this year’s crop has had to fight hard against weeds.

When things like this happen we also review our soil analysis to see whether the choice of field may have played a part.

While the yield will be less than last year, we still have plenty of stock built up from previous harvests to process. What has grown this year looks to be quite fine, so it will be interesting to see what the fibre is like. There’s a chance that while there isn’t a large amount, it might be of nice quality.

We include a card with every order that gives you all the details about the flax or yarn you’ve bought, including the year it was grown.
So if you receive an order of flax grown in 2024 you’ll know it came from a small but resilient crop!
#flax #naturefriendlyfarming #flaxtolinen

Blue skies and warmer weather here have been great

Blue skies and warmer weather here have been great for retting last year’s crop. This is the process of breaking down the flax to separate the fibre from the outer layers. We can fit about an acre’s worth of flax in our retting tank. We’ve been told it takes 11 nights for the flax to reach the perfect stage but a lot depends on variables like the weather and temperature of the water in the tank. We check the flax twice a day looking for the point when the fibre comes away easily from the outer core. Timing is everything. Take it out too soon and it will be difficult to scutch. Leave it until it’s over retted and we could lose a lot of the crop. It’s a process that requires you to hold your nerve…and your nose - the smell of retting flax is quite something! In the past our instinct has been to remove the flax early rather than risk losing the whole crop, but it’s weaker when wet so we now follow the advice we were given by Eugene McConville from McConville’s Flax Mill and Museum - when you think it’s ready, leave it another day. #flaxtolinen #regenerativeagriculture #irishgrownlinen #irishlinen #naturefriendlyfarming #riverfriendly #mcconvillesflaxmill #rettingflax

Sowing flax. We use a traditional tool called a fi

Sowing flax.
We use a traditional tool called a fiddle to broadcast the seeds. It has a bag which is filled with seed and the fiddle is carried over the shoulder. At the front is a “bow” which is moved from side to side, releasing the seeds as we walk up and down the field. We work out the seeding rate by broadcasting a sample onto a sheet and then counting the seeds per square metre to see if we need to adjust the settings on the fiddle. It might take a bit of time and a few goes to get the correct rate but it’s important for the success of the crop…sow too sparsely and the weeds compete, sow too densely and the stems can “lodge” or fall over. Traditionally it takes 100 days for the crop to be ready for harvest. #traditionrestarted #mallonlinen #regenerativeagriculture #flaxtolinen #naturefriendlyfarming

A lovely highlight of last year was when Regine Ne

A lovely highlight of last year was when Regine Neumann @growing_material_for_art visited the farm with the stunning rain jacket she had made using paper made from our flax fibre. Regine held a residency during the Linen Biennale @linenaliveni where she experimented with our flax tow fibre and created the most beautiful range of papers including the rain jacket. Our flax growing and processing journey has connected us with so many amazing people and we are continually blown away by what can be created using flax when it is in the hands of people like Regine. To pull our flax wearing a jacket made from it is a very special thing indeed. Thank you Regine! #flaxpaper #sustainablefashion #naturefriendlyfarming #flaxtopaper #regenerativeagriculture

Wishing you all a Happy New Year! Thanks to everyo

Wishing you all a Happy New Year! Thanks to everyone who has supported us this past year, by coming to an event here on the farm, sharing knowledge and experience, inviting us to participate in events, buying from us, giving us a comment, like or share on here, we really appreciate it. Thank you for being on this journey with us and best wishes for 2024! #flaxtolinen #regenerativeagriculture #sustainabletextiles #irishgrown #regenerativetextiles #flax #flaxfibre #flaxspinning

New product now available to buy. This is coarse l

New product now available to buy. This is coarse linen thread, hand spun by Charlie from our scutched flax fibre. He used a simple drop spindle, one of the oldest forms of spinning. It’s a lovely way to tie up parcels and labels or could be used in rustic floral arrangements or craft projects. A little bit of the new generation of Irish grown linen. Spool not included. #handspinnersofinstagram #flaxtolinen #handspinning #regenerativefarming #naturefriendlyfarming #flaxspinning #dropspindlespinning #irishgrownlinen #irishlinen #regenerativetextiles

What a special day! It was so fantastic to see the

What a special day! It was so fantastic to see the beautiful jeans created by Justine @thewilddyery using a warp thread made from flax grown and processed here on the farm. We were also thrilled to be joined by Angela and Shannon @fibrevolution_pnw , Malú @fibreshed_ireland , Prof Jane McCann, Fatemah @nestwellhospitality and Gawain @playthinkbrink. Thanks so much to @linenaliveni for lending us the wonderful flax paper rain jacket created (using our tow fibre) for the Linen Biennale this year by Regine Neumann @growing_material_for_art. Such an inspiring group of people. Thanks for coming! #flaxtolinen #fibreshed #sustainabletextiles #irishgrownlinen #womangrowsjeans #homegrownhomespun #flaxpaper

What a great weekend of Ulster Guild of Weavers, S

What a great weekend of Ulster Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers @ulsterguildofwsd Field to Fabric events here at the farm. Part of the NI Linen Biennale @linenaliveni #locallygrowntextiles #fieldtofabric #irishgrownlinen #flaxtolinen

We read in an old book about flax from Courtrai be

We read in an old book about flax from Courtrai being planted at a much higher seeding rate than was common in Ireland. This would make it grow taller and finer but then the danger would be it might lodge (fall over). So they put frames around it to hold it up. We've taken inspiration from this approach and set up a grid system of ropes through the flax. It seems to have survived Storm Betty very nicely. Any that fell lifted again. #naturefriendlyfarming #irishgrownlinen #learningfromthepast

Thanks to all who came to our flax harvest day as

Thanks to all who came to our flax harvest day as part of the @mournetextiles #fibretofabric crowdfunder campaign. It was looking a bit grim at first; wind, rain and a lot of flat flax, but the storm passed, the sun came out and the flax revived, so we got a good start made on the harvest. Thanks for all your hard work and support. We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did!

Flax growing in Northern Ireland…if the crop can

Flax growing in Northern Ireland…if the crop can withstand the wind and rain it should make a really strong long lasting linen. 🤞#irishgrownlinen #sustainableclothing #naturefriendlyfarming

Flowers appearing in the flax this week, a little

Flowers appearing in the flax this week, a little cheeriness amidst all the rain. #flax #irishgrownlinen #summer #northernireland #sustainabletextiles

Got a full day of scutching done last weekend so l

Got a full day of scutching done last weekend so lots of fibre orders heading out this week. The hackled fine line fibre is the biggest challenge as it is all hackled by hand, Charlie's poor hands! #slowtextiles #flax #irishgrownlinen #naturalfibres

We've had a few groups come to visit from Men's Sh

We've had a few groups come to visit from Men's Sheds and @ruralsupportni. It's amazing how much valuable information we glean from people who remember flax farming or the machinery. We learned about using violin rosin to give the belts grip - works a treat. A mystery was solved when one man pointed out that the faded paint in different parts of the machine were different colours, meaning the turbines and the breakers were made by different companies, that's why one bit was turning a different direction! . We were also told that whenever we think the flax is retted we should leave it one more day. These wee snippets are like gold dust for us! #traditionrestarted #irishlinen #flax

From a book by H.R. Carter, published in 1909, giv $From a book by H.R. Carter, published in 1909, gives us a sense of the scale of the industry at that time. Wouldn't it be amazing to see flax back in the fields, even at a fraction of that scale. It's reassuring to see that our area #Cookstown produced the best fibre - strong and 'warpy' - something to aspire to! #irishgrownlinen #sustainabletextiles #irishlinen #regenerativefarming #naturefriendlyfarming$

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Helen and Charlie Mallon, 22 High Street, Moneymore, Magherafelt BT45 7PD (By appt only) E: enquiries@mallonlinen.com T: 07899913537

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