The flax plant is ready to be harvested about 90 days after the seeds are planted. When it’s time for harvesting, the flax plant cannot simply be cut. The entire plant must be uprooted intact from the ground. This helps obtain the maximum length of the fibre, which is key to manufacturing high-quality linen. Uprooting each plant is tedious work and takes a whole lot of time.

Extracting the fibre from the flax plant is another laborious process involving three steps:

1.Retting – The flax stalks are soaked in water to soften them in this first step. The soaking stalks undergo partial rotting because of the action of bacteria and fungi. This partial rotting prepares the flax stalks for the next step.

2.Scutching – This second step involves crushing the sodden and partially rotted flax stalks between heavy-duty industrial metal rollers, which separates the inner fibres from the outer woody stalk.

3.Hackling – The flax is run through hackling combs in this final step. These combes separate the long fibres from the shorter fibres. The long fibres are then woven into linen.