Subscribe to Our Channel to be notified of all our latest land & craft videos. Click this link: ua-cam.com/channels/G8aZnmUWmREHr1m9I688ag.html Subtitles are included. Please click the subtitles icon below the video. East Donegal (the most northern county of Ireland) was the biggest producer of flax/linen in all of Ireland. Colm Clarke worked in the industry from the age of 12, helping his family to earn a living. He is one of the few people still alive who remembers the whole process of sowing, harvesting and processing flax to linen by hand.
Thank you for showing us how it is done. I had wondered if growing flax could be a viable small crop option for producing some of my own fiber. I'm still leaning towards banana fiber as my projects would be more utilitarian. However, if I ever get to the point where rugs, mats, baskets and decorative crafts are no longer fulfilling my creative goals, then I'm sure flax will be a good possibility.
That's Just Because Your a Female... All I Heard as a Man, Is "If Y'r Want Y'r Next Diaper, Get To Planting !!! " As a 'Rebel', I Decided to Go Without Diapers, Didn't Do My Early Love Life Much Good, Finally Became One of the "Prodigal Son's". 'Stupid Kids'...
He's the older generation. Can u just imagine how many times he's done this??!! That is the most perfect square laid out in a garden I've ever seen!! God bless ye Colm! Love the music!
I remember doing this with my grandmother in kentucky. She made all her own household fabrics. Sheets, towels, clothes. I didn't know how blessed we were. I loved watching this. Made me homesick.
@ref eds mostly linen. Her family was from Ireland, so we raised sheep and used wool as well. I remember she spun very fine and her fabric was soft as silk.
@Chaz Nonya, and now linen sheets are incredibly expensive. Way more expensive than "Egyptian cotton." I bet your gran would get a laugh out of that. What she thought of as commonplace is now a luxury item.
It's true! Back in the olden days maidens would start growing their hair out in early April, and come June they would pull it all out and soak it in water for a time. They would lay it bare on their plains til it was dry, then they'd beat the everloving hell out of it. Also crimping. These days, maiden hair is produced industrially, often using synthetic materials. It's generally less itchy though, which is a relief to many.
Greg KEEL it’s crazy. How’s shirt making even become so advanced. I bet thousands of years ago, a naked person could of made due with the product after he refined the flax by banging it on that board
I read a historian once- I can't remember who it was, but the subject was the middle ages- who said that, after the obvious things, like electric lights and flight, what those people would have considered really amazing about the world today is our abundance of textiles. In our world, clothes are so disposable, in Africa and south east Asia where huge charity organizations send bails of used clothing by the boatload, there are places where you literally can't give away a t-shirt. In the ancient world, and right up until well into the industrial revolution, a person's clothing and household linens represented a significant portion of their personal wealth. The amount of labor embodied in even the most common and widely used cloth made it a very valuable commodity, and articles of clothing, especially outerwear like coats and trowsers- carefully maintain ed and mended- had an expected period of use which could extend into multiple generations!
not really the people being spoiled, more a matter of companies sacrifice quality for mass production with the sole intent that products will never last and you have to replace it. If I could buy one pair of shoes every 20 years that would be awesome, but no.. They prey on people who don't have the time or means to make their own clothing and the economy in many countries now thrives on constant purchase. I make clothing as a hobby and it's really cool to create something I worked hard on and will last, but if everyone in the world had to provide their own clothing from scratch, our economies would suffer and many of us would be homeless, since we all quit our jobs to spend the year making one outfit for each member of our family. Today a machine can knit a hat in 30 seconds, it takes a person a half hour, only if they're a record breaker and never get hand cramps lol
Consider how in the Bible there is so much fuss about how valuable clothing was. It was even used as currency. Consider that a few garments would be the fruit of MONTHS of work by artisans, even the most humble items. Jesus had a tunic that was all one piece, woven seamlessly from top to bottom. It was too valuable to damage, so the Romans cast lots to see who would get it. It was the most valuable thing He owned. What a labor of love from someone, since it was surely a gift. It’s no wonder that we have such a difficult time grasping the profound, fundamental things of our existence, being as we are so far removed from the beauty which we once took for granted.
I know this is old, but you can still find quality clothing, designed to last years, but it is expensive. A 100% wool or linen shirt can cost hundreds of US dollars, but can last a very long time. I have a 100% wool coat that was gifted to me 13 years ago, it's a very fine thread so I can wear it almost year round, 9-10 months depending on weather, even here in the south eastern US, and all it's ever needed is to be brushed with a scrub brush to remove dust and dirt, and to be hung in the sun for a day to remove any odor. Other than a bit of sun bleaching it's still as good as it was 13 years ago, just a lighter shade of green.
@@simsimsworld You are so right. But the younger generation is being taught that the older ones don't know anything nowadays. And the things they do know, well, we don't need to know because we have machines that make everything. I am sure you are aware of all that. I've heard some agendas that call the elderly 'useless eaters' or 'resource robbers' and other such defamatory descriptions.
@@Gesundheit888 How sad.....but I guarantee that one day all these man made machines will set us back greatly and then we as a people won't have the hands-on skills necessary to get by because we put our elders on a dusty shelf.
This was wonderful to watch. Let's not consume fast fashion: we don't need that much that often. This way was slow but also sustainable and without any pollution involved.
@DBR Liamg Hi DBR Liamg! I appreciate you comment. My intention wasn't generalising, but pointing out that slow living is not that bad. And of course, fast fashion is a very polluting industry with a lot of human-related issues (fair trade, for example). I didn't mean this was a solution for the world at all, neither that we should all dress in linen :) Thank you very much for pointing out so many important areas on the production of textiles!
@ actually water retting does produce a lot of pollution and has been banned in some parts of the world. And it stinks to high heaven. Dew retting on the ground is cleaner but takes a lot more time and takes up a lot of space so it's not practical on an industrial scale. The best way to ret small quantities is water retting in a stream. That way the waste made by bacteria is washed away over time instead of accumulating to toxic levels in the water supply. It also smells better so the neighbors don't complain. Unfortunately not everyone has access to a stream. All in all there is no perfect way to ret flax.
In high school I learned this process from seed to material I grew, processed, spun and then wove the linen into material for curtains lol. I forgot how much I missed all of this.
Robert Rijkers Yes, you wonder how, with so little, they would even have foresight to look at plants growing and envision cloth. IT IS A WONDERFUL THING-THE MIND.
I spotted a number of comments, similar to yours & have gone through the process in the vlog, if you're still interested in flax to linen process. I was born near that area in Ireland & understand how quickly they can speak :-).
That is True of all 100% natural fibers. Best not to ever mix them for this reason. IF anything you make two separate garments each of their own fibers.
What an incredibly strong back this man must have! I have not a clue why this video popped up on my feed but I’m so happy that it did! Loved this so, so much.
Just Bend Y'r Knees, Luckily, I Guess I Was Born with Short Legs, Never Had Back Problems...Tho', I Sometimes Forget. It Makes for Oxen Legs, Or, At Auction, " I'll Take the Pretty One with 'Short Legs' " Damn Short People, What Are They Good For Anyway ?
I'm an Aussie. My father's Grandparents came from Ireland. My mother's side came from Cornwell. I loved my trip to Ireland. I slept on Linen sheets in Wales. Thought I was a princess. ♡♡♡♡♡♡
There is something so beautiful and worthy of respect in this man's movements. He has the routine down, you can see that it's muscle memory; and something about this is strangely so comforting for me to see. This is hard work from start to finish, and I'll never look at linen the same way 😊
@@MonreaghCentre He's just like my pa, then. Nearing 70 and has a displaced shoulder hanging a few inches lower than his other. He couldn't give a damn and still works his days away. ...he's retired.
That gentleman is about my age. I remember my grandmother showing me how this was done about 50 years ago, That patch would have been about an acre . It was incredibly labor intensive! It was how all of her linen tablecloths, bed sheets and other things were made.
That patch is not an acre; if an square, an acre is 209 feet x 209 feet; but during the time an acre was a rectangle shaped field, 66 feet by 660 feet, so you can use a horse to plow it easily. This was just a few yards long at most. I love that your grand mother showed you her linen making process. Thank you for sharing.
And that linen was passed down through the generations. It was almost indestructible. Especiall when it was made out of hemp which were the first blue jeans. They lasted forever. You only needed two pair for your whole life. One pair for workdays and one pair for sundays.
My goodness that was a labour intensive process. It is easy to see why people did not have a lot of clothes in previous centuries. Thank you for showing us how it was done.
I was admiring the yield from tiny plot. I've been told that the seed should be sewn thickly to force the plants to grow taller. Still that's a lot of flax from a tiny plot of land. Well done.
Lots of flax, but very little linen. Every plant produces only a few strands of fiber, thinner than a hair, which need to be spun into thread before being woven into fabric. The amount shown in the video probably isn't even enough to make a shirt from
A lot of commenters are under the impression that vlog is was how linen was made, to be shipped across the world & say, " No wonder it was & is so expensive!" If you are in this group & not being corrected, you are being slightly mislead & we wouldn't want that & neither would the folk at the Monreagh Center!! Let me clarify!! Of course processing flax into linen, in such small amounts would be ridiculous for the worldwide demand & a lot of work to make the vast amounts of linen needed to make table cloths, napkins, etc., that are still shipped across the world. What none of you seem to realize is that the Monereagh Centre is a "visitor's center" for schoolchildren & visitors to Ireland & is merely a tiny, tiny example of how linen was produced. My own great-grandfather & grandfather lived on a "bleach green" where fields & fields of the original flax plant grew. It was then put into "rhetting ponds/dams" (which stank). Taken from rhetting, it was then dried before beetling to separate the linen fibres from the rough, outer flax fibres. The massive beetling mills - each beetle as large as a king-sized bed post (dozens of them!!) went up & down, making a calamitous noise, which often deafened the men & teenage boys who worked therein!! Once the flax is beetled, it is then "scutched" (beetled again, only this time using a long, wooden blade). The person performing this process is known as a "hackler". The skutched fibres were then sorted & then spun on a spinning wheel. After spinning the flax was finally yarn! The yarn was taken to market then purchased by the weavers. The weavers wove the yarn into lengths of linen fabric. Unbleached linen was known as "brown linen", although most was bleached. After bleaching, linen could be dyed into any colour. The linen so many of you are familiar with today & which was manufactured at huge "linen mills" in the larger cities in Ireland, is a story in itself...............
@@davidsexton6604 You're most welcome. I have a late uncle whom I loved dearly but he (as well as the other sons in the family) had to live for, at least a year, in the beautiful (imho) homes built for those they worked alongside. They were not "overseers" by any stretch of the imagination but were obliged to work along with everyone else. Same conditions, hours, pay, etc., This one uncle lived there until the land was sold & there were some visits, I kid you not, when, as much as I loved him, I simply couldn't understand him :-). I got tired of the snide comments which, in most cases were justified but uncorrected & tried to do my part to clarify the spoken explanation. On both my & my husband's side we also know the man called to be the original Captain of the "Titanic" (Smith was not the 1st choice) & we knew draughtsmen & those who worked on that great ship. We know of the 1st time she was put on the "slipway" in Belfast & stopped halfway. Sailors are very superstitious & my husband's grandfather (who died over 100 yrs of age) said that all who observed this, immediately removed caps, hats, any head coverings, as gents did at funerals, once-upon-a-time & the word"death" & "disaster" were whispered from one to the other. Finally, we had a late friend who practiced as a lawyer & purchased two massive book cases, intended for the 1st class library on Titanic but ended up being unneeded & he was proud to have them stand, in use, in his law offices - quite a sight!! Sorry for the "Ready! Steady! Go!" which is all was required for my unasked for my unrequested burst of Irish truth & lore :-). Glad it helped. And apologies, once again.
@Opaque Motives Simply that a lot of commentators were under the impression that a "folk visitor's center's" tiny example of how linen was made was the whole industry!!!!! Considering the vast amounts of linen which left Ireland, that couldn't be. I was merely pointing out that this was merely a tiny example to foreign visitors & school children of the process NOT the whole linen industry...........easy!!!!
I totally understand what you mean, I imagine flax is harvested and processed by machine now? But the process itself is unchanged. Here in North America we call Rape seed or Canola, flax and for years I have wondered how that can be. This is so eye opening and amazing to me. Is your centre about saving tradition?
I loved this video!! It made me want to attempt to grow flax & follow the directions to make Linen. I have to also make sure I mention to u that u DEFINITELY picked the PERFECT gentleman for this video. What a wonderful, kind voice& handsome, friendly face that seemed to invite us all to stay a while & learn a little something. I thank u for making this video!❤👍 New Sub!
I totally agree! Would have liked to have watch further on how to make the thread out of the finished linen. Seems like there isn't much linen left after all of the process to finish it is over. So, how much linen does it take to make one dress like the one shown? Soooo interesting! Thank you so very much! It seems like most of the equipment was probably hand made as well. Would love to watch a video on how to make the equipment needed for this. Thanks again!
I would have liked to see the spinning wheel in action next. Also, seems like the weather was good for each step in the process. How did he learn to do this? Also, what would that crop pay when finished, as shown.
Funny how "they" seem to know just what we need to watch. This is one you sit down with a cup of coffee or tea while you learn how to turn flax into linen.
One more thanks for showing the entire process to make this fabric. It is so laborious... I use linen for embroidery a lot. Now, I see why it is expensive.
Back in the late 50s early 60s my Grandfather used to bring home old blueprints home from his drawing office, my auntie then bleached them to make linen pillow cases.
@@elizabethtaylor4448 Actually, none of them are drawn on the finished product whether it is a blueprint or a blue line print. The difference in the two is the process that develops the paper/material it is on. The actual drawing is done on tracing paper/vellum. Once the drawing is done on the tracing paper, the treated material the finished product will be on is exposed thru the drawing by bright light ( artificial or sunlight ). Then the material is exposed to chemicals that bring out the color. Some drawings undergo many revisions before the final product is made or as time goes by, revisions are added/removed to/from the original drawing. When they need an up to date version, they just repeat the original steps to get the new print. I've had the Vellums for the Presidential Communications Car ( USA 87325/SC-1 ) in my hands. Also a set of blueprints that were made that were sent to the White House for changes. There were some very noticeable changes and if you looked very closely at the drawings, you could see the old parts that were changed. They would not show up on the new prints though as they were that faint from being erased.
What a great piece of history. A really knowledgeable guy who breathes authenticity. I'm Scottish so had little trouble understanding the commentary but I wonder if subtitles would be useful to help reinforce the explanation. Thanks for posting and hopefully we'll visit sometime. Keep up the good work. 😁
On a molecular level, linen has a long chain length which makes it so tough and why we have so much linen fabric and paper that is two thousand years old and more. A delightful video and very interesting to watch. Thank you so much!
This is one of the most interesting videos on how to make linen. I love to wear linen in the summer. It's so nice and cool and I had no idea it was so labor intensive. Thank you for showing us how linen is made. I love that you showed us from the beginning, planting the seed to the harvesting of the threads.
El Fraser Wow! How much have you "used" them? What I mean is, do you put them on your pillows regularly or just a couple times a year etc. Are they a natural color or have they been dyed or embroidered etc. Did she make them herself?
I also prefer linen, ive purchased vintage linens at thrift shops and find nothing as soft and cool as a well used linen pillow slip. They feel so powderey and smooth..my teenagers even fight over them!
mindy fussner Linen is a really hard-wearing fabric, that's probably why it got used for sheets. When the centres got worn down, they would resew the the sides together, so that the sides became the centre.
@@luciatilyard2827 my mother did that with my sheets as a child (which I think were linen) I refused to use them after that though, I hated it! that line of thick sewing in the middle completely spoilt the luxurious feel :( I would have rathered keep using without that split until they wore the whole way through. Maybe I'm spoilt, but it just really upset me as a kid to have sheets that to me still had lots of use in them & were SO comfy have that done to them
@@fauxty I've developed a nose for finding high quality linen handkerchiefs and now have quite a wardrobe of them, most of which are new old stock from ebay. They make nice little gifts for those who appreciate linen - and lace.
Not just linen. A well-made garment was something you'd pass down from generation to generation because making clothing was labor intensive when you considered everything from start to finish.
@Markus Patients Hate to break it to you but people have been making clothing this way a lot longer than hundreds of years lol. While some cultures did use animal skins, in a time and area where such things were plentiful fabric clothing predates even agriculture. I believe the current oldest flax fabric is dated at 34000 years old and was dyed. Of course such fabrics as well as skin clothing rots away very quickly so it could be even older than that easily. SInce plant clothing is made of thread, which is just thin rope.........which was probably one of humanities first inventions I see no reason why clothing made of such materials wouldn't be almost as old. Everyone could weave.........everyone could make rope/thread. It's actually quite a short jump to clothing. It's also something you can do all day every day whereas hunting is not. Not to mention leather clothing is hella hot in warm climates. I suspect fabric clothing was more popular in most parts of the world.
I am so grateful for that demonstration. My 3rd great grandfather was a linen draper - I can only guess he was Irish being a Brady but finding his birthplace is a bit of a minefield LOL! I have always wondered how the linen was made - it has been so interesting to watch, many thanks. xxx
I'm a needleworker and prefer to stitch on linen. I've seen this video twice now and it's still mesmerizing. The process is so fascinating! It also makes me appreciate why the cost of linen is so gasp-inducing, especially when I need a large piece for a project. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. (Also, I live in Florida and that lush grass is giving me serious lawn envy! You could nap on that stuff. Ours is sad in comparison.)
I did a very small batch of yucca fiber last summer, which is very similar to sisal, if not the same thing. The leaves I dew rhetted smelled of sweet hay, but the fibers were dusty and weak. As an experiment, I threw a handful in a 5 gallon bucket, and forgot about them. A month later, i found them, and when I tell you it was the most putrid, noxious smell I've ever sensed, but you could take them in hand and just pull the fibers out of the green mush effortlessly. I'd just pinch the leaf and run my hand up. A quick rinse in clean water and I had pristine, strong, shiny yucca fiber that looked like synthetic doll hair. It stunk, God did it stink, but I left it hanging near the barn and I a few weeks the smell was gone. Twisted it into some 3 fiber thread with an improvised drop spindle that was basically a stick with a nail in it, then just kept spinning the threads into counterspun strings. Then a small rope.
witchy hour I’m always amazed and shocked at the disgusting replies from many “people” on UA-cams comments section! It’s like the worst people in the world have been given free reign to spew their filth. How something as benign as making linen can result in this kind of response, is beyond unbelievable! It’s so sad at how low people can sink and drag others down with them. Living in this world is hard enough, we are supposed to be uplifting each other, not ridiculing and insulting others. Thank you for this video, I find it calming.
I''m a spinner and weaver in Australia. Still have some hard to come by raw Flax ready for spinning. The method is quite different to spinning wool as the fibre is pretty coarse. My ancestors in eastern Europe used to grow flax, but also extra extracted oil from the seeds. I'm eating Linseeds when I have a twinge near my liver, which soon disappears like magic. A very multi useful plant. Thanks!
This is a heck of a lot of work! I make handmade bobbin lace from linen threads. Reading about the process and seeing it done are two different things! It is an amazing process...
When I lived in New Hampshire, I did living history events of the 18th century. I sewed my own clothes. Coarse Linen was the fabric. I made shirts and breeches of the stuff. It was incredibly durable, strong, comfortable. A great material to work with.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching you loving teach us how this is done. I've always loved natural fibers as linen and had no idea how it gets to finished product. I didn't even know it was flax! That was so beautiful to watch. Thank you!
That’s a lot of work! People in the old days worked very hard! It makes you wonder how the first people to ever weave linen figured out how to process it. I’m sure that many plants were experimented with.
EGYPTIANS of Kemet made linen as well as ''paper'' from papyrus aka ''rushes'' what he used to tie the bundles. really it was not alot of work if thats all you did all day. ''many hands make light work''
@@valsedonia The oldest living culture in the world is Australian Aboriginal, so they're often a great reference point to figure this stuff out (if looking properly & not at European propaganda) They have extensive hair based clothing. Women would continually grow their hair & then cut to produce fibres for making clothing, bags etc. The development of weaving techniques can still be seen in the various hair fibre products available, with finer/more advanced weaving techniques used for clothing, while rough techniques are used in bags & other more durable items. Presumably for fibres like linseed (hemp's the same & even more likely to have come first), people were probably eating the seeds & leaving the fibres & probably noticed on returning to the location some months later that some fibres had naturally reeted & split & were lying around on the ground in a form close enough to the final product to prompt them to experiment with the other partly decomposing plants in the same location to discover they could create a hair like fibre by collecting & working the stems at the same time as collecting the seeds. It could also have been that they used fresh hemp as a twine to tie up logs to make shelters & then found it split over time into various fibres that were even more useful (hemp has rough outer fibres that are used for rope & soft inner fibres that are used for clothes) & so they might have then refined the weathering process to intentionally separate them before beginning to use & once they'd stumbled across one fibre that did that, they probably tried it will all fibres, especially if moving to new locations that didn't have the old fibre they used in that way flax & hemp aren't Australian, nothing on them in what I'm about to suggest, but if you want to learn more about early agriculture & how humans figured a lot of this stuff out, there's a book called "dark emu" that is a fascinating look at the extent of agriculture & development of this nature in a way that is completely foreign to what we think of as "civilisation" today, lots of incites as to how working the environment for our needs really happened
My goodness, Colm Clarke works quickly & efficiently, but you can feel the love & pride in everything he does. Wonderful video, thank you so much especially to Mr Clarke for sharing his knowledge & skill with us.
Shakaama I’m Irish, living in Ireland and I could barely understand what he said! The Donegal accent can be tough! I used to go up North and my ex’s brother would talk to me, I’d smile and when he left I’d ask what he’d said, could never understand him!
This pleases me to know that we are among the people (younger and older and all in between) who care and keep sharing along the arts-&-crafts and SKILLS and TALENTS of 'yesteryear'. I learned hand-embroidery as a child & at the knee of my 'town' Grandmother. Farming and gardening at the behest of and with further encouragement from my 'country-farm' Grandmother. I'd love to learn more about spinning of wool from sheep &/or alpaca because I've learned weaving with a floor loom AND also off-loom weaving as custom-made art pieces to give as gifts &/or to possibly sell for added income. Wouldn't you just love to accept this gent's invitation and actually go to Donegal , Ireland and the Heritage Centre there? (I hope to also return someday.... no later than year 2020...to the Irish Folk Village in County Clare, Ireland......... not far from Limerick City and also Cork City.... the "Butter-Making" capital of the world on the banks of my own "Lovely Lee" River.
@@janetbedford7562 - Oh please Janet DO follow through. These skills are dying out. If you stay to learn these skills you will be able to teach others. We may still have a hope. Thank you, Janet!
same here but from the southwest corner of Washington state U.S.A. Would loved to have been able to learn then teach my children and their children as well.
It took me 3 minutes to figure out what was wrong. I kept checking the music on my game being sure I turned it off. The mental dissonance this caused is surprising.
Holy crap! That elderly gentleman was working his Scottish hands to the bone! And we whine about throwing a load in the washer!😽Thankyou. Very interesting. Wish I COULD go visit him and his farm!😍
Yip, Colm is a hard-working man. He loves showing people how things were done in the past. He's a real gem with loads of passion for traditional ways. Thanks for your comments
As a seamstress, and have worked with linen, this is a great video to learn how linen was made back in the day. I do have some linen fabric (a loose weave), it is fantastic and silky in texture. Thank you!
I am growing flax on our farm. Have wanted to do this for long time. Am going from plant to cloth and it is beautiful and feels great when done. This video got me started, many thanks.
Me too in Wales, uk. I grew my first crop of flax in 2021. Processed and spun it, then wove it into a small sample of cloth which is now pride of place in a display frame on our living room wall 🧱 It might be the first piece of linen cloth to be made in Wales for 300 years so I think it's special enough for the wall 😃 I watched lots of videos before attempting it and this video is one I come back to regularly, there's just something about it!
Thanks and God Bless you for showing everyone the process of making linen. Makes us Appreciate our history. Love and God Bless from America! Uncle Jeff!
Our dad 86 yrs old explained how his mom our grandma made linen from raw flax plants.It was before and during WWII.there were no fabrics,no shoes to buy.only exchange for some food.the money were not value. during the war Germans brought their Reischmarks but if no food around also not a value. To get a nice colour like creamy colour they rinsed in the river then put on the ground under sunshine.again and again.because original linen came as ugly gray colour.our grandma had old Zinger saw machine.she saw a simple clouse for her,for our grandpa and their 5 kids.their neighbors usually ask her to make some clouse too for their families.they are paid by eggs,milk or chicken.
Didn't know about this thanks. Here in New Zealand, we have a different plant we call "flax", a kind of wide leaved very tough grass, that grows to about ten feet high. The native Maori race used it to produce various woven goods, from baskets, to cloaks and belts for skirts, and twine etc.
Laura Curtiss Will see what I can do, I have a cousin who is a Maori weaver and knowledgeable about this. I could go and grab some seeds from my garden, as this flax grows everywhere. I'd hate to introduce some disease and wipe out the linen industry by being careless, so will check the protocol first. It may be available there as New Zealand flax (Harakeke) from garden centers etc. I've got your youtube moniker here so will get back to you. Thanks for your interest. There will probably be something on youtube about it.
I kind of liken this man to my GGGGrandfather Thomas Lockhart, who boarded the Ship Atlantic and brought his family to the US in 1831. I know little of him except for what I have researched on him. But I have reason to believe that he was a linen merchant in Ireland, and his family members included spinsters and a weaver. I feel like watching this gets me more in tune with my Lockharts :).
@@orianeshiroma2924 On the passenger ship list after the women in this Lockhart family and some of the other women and girls on the ship was the term "spinster". I know, we know spinster as a women who are single and past marrying age. This is originally why I thought the older woman Hannah Jane among this family may have been Thomas's unmarried sister. But so was Anne Lockhart also listed as a spinster after profession, and she was only 16 then. So I don't think spinster referred to the marital status but that of yes a spinner. It was called spinster then.
Those ancestors of ours would trade spots with us in a heartbeat if they had the chance. I'm old enough to have had and known my grandparents from the 19th century. They were all farmers. They grabbed onto every time and labor saving device that they could reasonably afford to lay their hands on as they came along. Like anyone they were sentimental about days gone by, but they didn't yearn for the "good old days" in terms of the amount of labor they had to do day in and day out. They appreciated and enjoyed how much easier life had become over the course of their lives.
I can see now why linen was so expensive. So different than the growing, harvesting, and manufacturing cotton. Wonderful, thank you so much for the demonstration.
Garnet I'll trade 2 fat pigs (no, not my ex'ses. but real pigs), two busheLs of beans, 2 bag of beads and .. okay.. one of my ex too.. to help me understand the instructions! (not from the west and certainly not from around Ireland, Scotland)
*+Coffee Jack* but it is precisely the UGs (uuooo-geeez, under governments) made out of natural linen that are long lasting, of highest quality and totally resistant to microbial activity. (this is not to imply the "Mr Kush", others or your good selves have any bacteria, viruses on or in you or in any of your cracks, crevices).
Such back breaking work - now I appreciate the linen I buy for my embroidery. And treasure the Irish linens I have collected from charity shops over the years!
Guau. Thank you so much for your video. It's a honor to see somebody who knows so well the process of making a such an important kind if job. I would love to visit you and spin by hand your linen as I have been a spinner for more than thirty years. Thank you again.
Besides the flaxen hair word connection, I grew up calling snow- white hair kids tow-headed. It is from the very strong "tow" ropes they made from flax for boat ropes. That is not a term appreciated today if you say, "oh look at your cute tow-headed son."
@@lynettepatten904 People hear it today as "toe-headed" and then they really get confused! You have to see it in print to recognize what the original meaning of the term was. Thanks for explaining the original source of the phrase!
@@lynettepatten904 Hahaha people used to call my siblings and I tow headed, now I understand what it means. As a kid, I pictured a giant toe for a head!
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East Donegal (the most northern county of Ireland) was the biggest producer of flax/linen in all of Ireland. Colm Clarke worked in the industry from the age of 12, helping his family to earn a living. He is one of the few people still alive who remembers the whole process of sowing, harvesting and processing flax to linen by hand.
How much thread would he have been able to make from what he grew? Enough for a shirt?
This video content is awesome. Thank you for showing this incredible technique to us.
@@xxshevilxx it be lot of tread to stitch your lips together
If you would please contact me about this video, you could contact me.
Thank you for showing us how it is done. I had wondered if growing flax could be a viable small crop option for producing some of my own fiber. I'm still leaning towards banana fiber as my projects would be more utilitarian. However, if I ever get to the point where rugs, mats, baskets and decorative crafts are no longer fulfilling my creative goals, then I'm sure flax will be a good possibility.
What fascinates me is how people even figured out how to turn natural fibers into usable items. Imagine the trial and error it took to get it right
I thought about that too. How did people ever figure out each step of the process to turn a plant into clothing. It fascinates me.
I think a lot of stuff was accidental. Amazing.
Trial and ERROR.
@@inkyguy thank you. This predictive text is crazy. Best to look over what ya text.
Goes back before ancient Egypt they made linen from flax and paper from papyrus goes way back people were so skilled.
They didn't add music to this video, that's just the natural sound you hear while staying in Donegal
😂😂😂
😆 lol
Haha love the way you think. Needed a chuckle.
I thought it was the sound flax made when growing🤔🤔🤔
Haha!!♡♡♡
What struck me most about this video is what an utter sweet gentleman this man was!
Kimberly F ...you can ask this man question after question and he’d never get annoyed. I think he’d enjoy it.
That's Just Because Your a Female... All I Heard as a Man, Is "If Y'r Want Y'r Next Diaper, Get To Planting !!! " As a 'Rebel', I Decided to Go Without Diapers, Didn't Do My Early Love Life Much Good, Finally Became One of the "Prodigal Son's". 'Stupid Kids'...
Yes. I'd love to sit chatting with him a cosy local over a pint or two.
He's the older generation. Can u just imagine how many times he's done this??!! That is the most perfect square laid out in a garden I've ever seen!! God bless ye Colm! Love the music!
Kimberly F hard work equals no time for being rude.
I remember doing this with my grandmother in kentucky. She made all her own household fabrics. Sheets, towels, clothes. I didn't know how blessed we were. I loved watching this. Made me homesick.
Oh wow!
@ref eds mostly linen. Her family was from Ireland, so we raised sheep and used wool as well. I remember she spun very fine and her fabric was soft as silk.
Very cool
@Chaz Nonya, and now linen sheets are incredibly expensive. Way more expensive than "Egyptian cotton." I bet your gran would get a laugh out of that. What she thought of as commonplace is now a luxury item.
@@lorisewsstuff1607 I can only sleep on egyptian cotton - closest thing I can find. Luckily, I found them for $15 a set ☺️
All those songs and poems about girls with flaxen hair make a lot more sense now
It's true! Back in the olden days maidens would start growing their hair out in early April, and come June they would pull it all out and soak it in water for a time. They would lay it bare on their plains til it was dry, then they'd beat the everloving hell out of it. Also crimping.
These days, maiden hair is produced industrially, often using synthetic materials. It's generally less itchy though, which is a relief to many.
ua-cam.com/video/YEITVTcGbzc/v-deo.html
Omg you are right
Oh, wow, yes!
@@maxsparks3764 that was good chuckle
So much work for one shirt. They must have treasured all of their clothes. This throw away culture today is really spoiled.
Greg KEEL it’s crazy. How’s shirt making even become so advanced. I bet thousands of years ago, a naked person could of made due with the product after he refined the flax by banging it on that board
I read a historian once- I can't remember who it was, but the subject was the middle ages- who said that, after the obvious things, like electric lights and flight, what those people would have considered really amazing about the world today is our abundance of textiles. In our world, clothes are so disposable, in Africa and south east Asia where huge charity organizations send bails of used clothing by the boatload, there are places where you literally can't give away a t-shirt. In the ancient world, and right up until well into the industrial revolution, a person's clothing and household linens represented a significant portion of their personal wealth. The amount of labor embodied in even the most common and widely used cloth made it a very valuable commodity, and articles of clothing, especially outerwear like coats and trowsers- carefully maintain ed and mended- had an expected period of use which could extend into multiple generations!
not really the people being spoiled, more a matter of companies sacrifice quality for mass production with the sole intent that products will never last and you have to replace it. If I could buy one pair of shoes every 20 years that would be awesome, but no.. They prey on people who don't have the time or means to make their own clothing and the economy in many countries now thrives on constant purchase. I make clothing as a hobby and it's really cool to create something I worked hard on and will last, but if everyone in the world had to provide their own clothing from scratch, our economies would suffer and many of us would be homeless, since we all quit our jobs to spend the year making one outfit for each member of our family. Today a machine can knit a hat in 30 seconds, it takes a person a half hour, only if they're a record breaker and never get hand cramps lol
Consider how in the Bible there is so much fuss about how valuable clothing was. It was even used as currency. Consider that a few garments would be the fruit of MONTHS of work by artisans, even the most humble items. Jesus had a tunic that was all one piece, woven seamlessly from top to bottom. It was too valuable to damage, so the Romans cast lots to see who would get it. It was the most valuable thing He owned. What a labor of love from someone, since it was surely a gift. It’s no wonder that we have such a difficult time grasping the profound, fundamental things of our existence, being as we are so far removed from the beauty which we once took for granted.
I know this is old, but you can still find quality clothing, designed to last years, but it is expensive. A 100% wool or linen shirt can cost hundreds of US dollars, but can last a very long time.
I have a 100% wool coat that was gifted to me 13 years ago, it's a very fine thread so I can wear it almost year round, 9-10 months depending on weather, even here in the south eastern US, and all it's ever needed is to be brushed with a scrub brush to remove dust and dirt, and to be hung in the sun for a day to remove any odor. Other than a bit of sun bleaching it's still as good as it was 13 years ago, just a lighter shade of green.
I really want to buy that bloke a beer at the local pub.
We all would, but we’d have to “sneak” him home sober (his missus may not approve🤣) Fit as a fiddle he is, hats off to him 👍
He deserves it, doesn't he?
He IS awesome yes?
Me too but maybe don’t call him a bloke, it’s a very English word. Kind of irritating sometimes, I’m not really sure how to explain it
Exactly. And I’d nod along and smile at whatever he said, even though I can’t understand a word.
My mom still has a flax linen table cloth from Poland from my Grandfather's village. It's 50yrs old and is still durable but soft.
Yes, linen lasts a lifetime. Thanks for watching
Back when things were made properly and to last.
This is amazing! The Elders are so important for the younger generation.
They were. Still can be now, but not for essential skills. Tech moves too quickly for the tradition of handing down skill sets.
That's why they want to get rid of the Elders!
@@Gesundheit888 Thats crazy...this world is so upside-down. These elders can teach this younger generation on how to be self sufficient!
@@simsimsworld You are so right. But the younger generation is being taught that the older ones don't know anything nowadays. And the things they do know, well, we don't need to know because we have machines that make everything. I am sure you are aware of all that. I've heard some agendas that call the elderly 'useless eaters' or 'resource robbers' and other such defamatory descriptions.
@@Gesundheit888 How sad.....but I guarantee that one day all these man made machines will set us back greatly and then we as a people won't have the hands-on skills necessary to get by because we put our elders on a dusty shelf.
I love linen fiber even more now.
I'd love to see a part 2 where they actually make the fabric from the threads.
Me too!
I watched for that reason
This was wonderful to watch. Let's not consume fast fashion: we don't need that much that often. This way was slow but also sustainable and without any pollution involved.
Well said. I agree.
Agree completely!
@DBR Liamg Hi DBR Liamg! I appreciate you comment. My intention wasn't generalising, but pointing out that slow living is not that bad. And of course, fast fashion is a very polluting industry with a lot of human-related issues (fair trade, for example). I didn't mean this was a solution for the world at all, neither that we should all dress in linen :) Thank you very much for pointing out so many important areas on the production of textiles!
@ actually water retting does produce a lot of pollution and has been banned in some parts of the world. And it stinks to high heaven. Dew retting on the ground is cleaner but takes a lot more time and takes up a lot of space so it's not practical on an industrial scale. The best way to ret small quantities is water retting in a stream. That way the waste made by bacteria is washed away over time instead of accumulating to toxic levels in the water supply. It also smells better so the neighbors don't complain. Unfortunately not everyone has access to a stream. All in all there is no perfect way to ret flax.
@@lorisewsstuff1607 can you ret flaxi into the ocean/Beach? Thanks for all the info
In high school I learned this process from seed to material I grew, processed, spun and then wove the linen into material for curtains lol. I forgot how much I missed all of this.
Lost skills are really arts that need to be taught.
props to the ancient person looking at some weeds and thinking 'I could make a shirt from this!'....
Animal fur and hides are HOT in the summer.
Robert Rijkers. 😆😆Or looking at some dirt and thinking "shit... I could make an axe out of this"
@@nyakwarObat 😂😂😂
Robert Rijkers
Yes, you wonder how, with so little, they would even have foresight to look at plants growing and envision cloth. IT IS A WONDERFUL THING-THE MIND.
Kim the ancient Egyptians wore linen clothing almost exclusively because it was well suited to the hot climate
I understood 1/10th of what he said, but loved every second. Charming and informative video. ^^
I spotted a number of comments, similar to yours & have gone through the process in the vlog, if you're still interested in flax to linen process. I was born near that area in Ireland & understand how quickly they can speak :-).
Same 😂
Turn on the captions.
Just turn on the subtitles!
Turn on CC! Works like a charm
I love wearing linen clothing because they breathe. Being in Florida, linens are much cooler to wear in this climate.
That is True of all 100% natural fibers. Best not to ever mix them for this reason. IF anything you make two separate garments each of their own fibers.
@Psalm 27Which is why we should all run about naked as God made us as often as the weather permits!
What an incredibly strong back this man must have! I have not a clue why this video popped up on my feed but I’m so happy that it did!
Loved this so, so much.
My back is aching from watch you pick the flax!
Just the way hes always bent made my ache hehe
me too.
Just Bend Y'r Knees, Luckily, I Guess I Was Born with Short Legs, Never Had Back Problems...Tho', I Sometimes Forget. It Makes for Oxen Legs, Or, At Auction, " I'll Take the Pretty One with 'Short Legs' " Damn Short People, What Are They Good For Anyway ?
I was thinking what a lot of hard work he was at and how diligent he was working. How nice he can still work like that.
I know! Me too!
Every time I put my linen blouses on I will think of all the hard work the craftsmen used to go through before there was machinery to do the job.
I'm an Aussie.
My father's Grandparents came from Ireland.
My mother's side came from Cornwell.
I loved my trip to Ireland. I slept on Linen sheets in Wales. Thought I was a princess. ♡♡♡♡♡♡
Greetings from Donegal, Ireland. Thanks for watching
actually you are a princess👸
Wonderful demonstration. Thank you for keeping this process alive for the rest of us.
Amazing. No wonder fine linen was so expensive and rare.
Stoney Lonsome To true. And if it’s form Ireland worth every penny.
Knowing that gambeson os made of layers of flax, I wonder how much it would've cost back then.
@Stoney Lonsome a sturdy jacket
There is something so beautiful and worthy of respect in this man's movements. He has the routine down, you can see that it's muscle memory; and something about this is strangely so comforting for me to see. This is hard work from start to finish, and I'll never look at linen the same way 😊
In touch with nature in a really special way!
I thought the same thing. It's so natural looking.
Makes us really appreciate the product that much more!
Agree. 👌
I wish he was my grandpa.
Wow. Just wow. Great man who needs to pass on these talents
Yes, Colm is a great man. He's in the minority nowadays. And the man is over 80 years and still works as if he is a teenager.
@@MonreaghCentre He's just like my pa, then. Nearing 70 and has a displaced shoulder hanging a few inches lower than his other. He couldn't give a damn and still works his days away.
...he's retired.
Absolutely.
That gentleman is about my age. I remember my grandmother showing me how this was done about 50 years ago, That patch would have been about an acre . It was incredibly labor intensive! It was how all of her linen tablecloths, bed sheets and other things were made.
Do you know how many square meters of fabric one could produce with one acre?
David Earnest, wow, amazing. Thank you for sharing that. How nice to be directly linked back to this.
That patch is not an acre; if an square, an acre is 209 feet x 209 feet; but during the time an acre was a rectangle shaped field, 66 feet by 660 feet, so you can use a horse to plow it easily. This was just a few yards long at most. I love that your grand mother showed you her linen making process. Thank you for sharing.
And that linen was passed down through the generations. It was almost indestructible. Especiall when it was made out of hemp which were the first blue jeans. They lasted forever. You only needed two pair for your whole life. One pair for workdays and one pair for sundays.
@@Gesundheit888 I didn't know that about blue jeans being made from hemp.
I wish you were my grandfather. You demonstrated not only the making of linen but the essential fiber of life. Thank you.
Well put!
stoned?
hah fucking gay
HighSeasDrifter57 so beautifully put. thank you for saying what my heart felt
My goodness that was a labour intensive process. It is easy to see why people did not have a lot of clothes in previous centuries. Thank you for showing us how it was done.
It’s amazing how much flax can be produced from such a small area.
I was admiring the yield from tiny plot. I've been told that the seed should be sewn thickly to force the plants to grow taller. Still that's a lot of flax from a tiny plot of land. Well done.
Lots of flax, but very little linen. Every plant produces only a few strands of fiber, thinner than a hair, which need to be spun into thread before being woven into fabric. The amount shown in the video probably isn't even enough to make a shirt from
@@mynamejeff3545
Oh man, I had no idea it would take that much! 🫤
A lot of commenters are under the impression that vlog is was how linen was made, to be shipped across the world & say, " No wonder it was & is so expensive!" If you are in this group & not being corrected, you are being slightly mislead & we wouldn't want that & neither would the folk at the Monreagh Center!! Let me clarify!! Of course processing flax into linen, in such small amounts would be ridiculous for the worldwide demand & a lot of work to make the vast amounts of linen needed to make table cloths, napkins, etc., that are still shipped across the world. What none of you seem to realize is that the Monereagh Centre is a "visitor's center" for schoolchildren & visitors to Ireland & is merely a tiny, tiny example of how linen was produced. My own great-grandfather & grandfather lived on a "bleach green" where fields & fields of the original flax plant grew. It was then put into "rhetting ponds/dams" (which stank). Taken from rhetting, it was then dried before beetling to separate the linen fibres from the rough, outer flax fibres. The massive beetling mills - each beetle as large as a king-sized bed post (dozens of them!!) went up & down, making a calamitous noise, which often deafened the men & teenage boys who worked therein!! Once the flax is beetled, it is then "scutched" (beetled again, only this time using a long, wooden blade). The person performing this process is known as a "hackler". The skutched fibres were then sorted & then spun on a spinning wheel. After spinning the flax was finally yarn! The yarn was taken to market then purchased by the weavers. The weavers wove the yarn into lengths of linen fabric. Unbleached linen was known as "brown linen", although most was bleached. After bleaching, linen could be dyed into any colour. The linen so many of you are familiar with today & which was manufactured at huge "linen mills" in the larger cities in Ireland, is a story in itself...............
Thanks !
@@davidsexton6604 You're most welcome. I have a late uncle whom I loved dearly but he (as well as the other sons in the family) had to live for, at least a year, in the beautiful (imho) homes built for those they worked alongside. They were not "overseers" by any stretch of the imagination but were obliged to work along with everyone else. Same conditions, hours, pay, etc., This one uncle lived there until the land was sold & there were some visits, I kid you not, when, as much as I loved him, I simply couldn't understand him :-). I got tired of the snide comments which, in most cases were justified but uncorrected & tried to do my part to clarify the spoken explanation. On both my & my husband's side we also know the man called to be the original Captain of the "Titanic" (Smith was not the 1st choice) & we knew draughtsmen & those who worked on that great ship. We know of the 1st time she was put on the "slipway" in Belfast & stopped halfway. Sailors are very superstitious & my husband's grandfather (who died over 100 yrs of age) said that all who observed this, immediately removed caps, hats, any head coverings, as gents did at funerals, once-upon-a-time & the word"death" & "disaster" were whispered from one to the other. Finally, we had a late friend who practiced as a lawyer & purchased two massive book cases, intended for the 1st class library on Titanic but ended up being unneeded & he was proud to have them stand, in use, in his law offices - quite a sight!! Sorry for the "Ready! Steady! Go!" which is all was required for my unasked for my unrequested burst of Irish truth & lore :-). Glad it helped. And apologies, once again.
It seems like what you're saying is that everything we saw on a small scale is done at a large scale but at a larger scale. Is that it?
@Opaque Motives Simply that a lot of commentators were under the impression that a "folk visitor's center's" tiny example of how linen was made was the whole industry!!!!! Considering the vast amounts of linen which left Ireland, that couldn't be. I was merely pointing out that this was merely a tiny example to foreign visitors & school children of the process NOT the whole linen industry...........easy!!!!
I totally understand what you mean, I imagine flax is harvested and processed by machine now? But the process itself is unchanged. Here in North America we call Rape seed or Canola, flax and for years I have wondered how that can be. This is so eye opening and amazing to me. Is your centre about saving tradition?
loved the video. I almost cried he reminds me so much of my grandfather whom I loved very very much. I also miss him so much.
I loved this video!! It made me want to attempt to grow flax & follow the directions to make Linen. I have to also make sure I mention to u that u DEFINITELY picked the PERFECT gentleman for this video. What a wonderful, kind voice& handsome, friendly face that seemed to invite us all to stay a while & learn a little something. I thank u for making this video!❤👍 New Sub!
I totally agree! Would have liked to have watch further on how to make the thread out of the finished linen. Seems like there isn't much linen left after all of the process to finish it is over. So, how much linen does it take to make one dress like the one shown? Soooo interesting! Thank you so very much!
It seems like most of the equipment was probably hand made as well. Would love to watch a video on how to make the equipment needed for this. Thanks again!
Debbie Travis Blakley I’d like to try making linen!
I would have liked to see the spinning wheel in action next. Also, seems like the weather was good for each step in the process. How did he learn to do this? Also, what would that crop pay when finished, as shown.
Quite charming, indeed! I can imagine a lassie or two has had her eye on him.
I'm glad this was recommended, it's interesting
Funny how "they" seem to know just what we need to watch. This is one you sit down with a cup of coffee or tea while you learn how to turn flax into linen.
One more thanks for showing the entire process to make this fabric.
It is so laborious... I use linen for embroidery a lot.
Now, I see why it is expensive.
Village Elder thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom
Perfect.
Back in the late 50s early 60s my Grandfather used to bring home old blueprints home from his drawing office, my auntie then bleached them to make linen pillow cases.
Imagine how cool and trendy they'd be with the print on them ... I'm an artist and always think that way
I always thought blue prints were drawn on parchement paper? How much do I not know!
Mylar?
@@elizabethtaylor4448 Actually, none of them are drawn on the finished product whether it is a blueprint or a blue line print. The difference in the two is the process that develops the paper/material it is on. The actual drawing is done on tracing paper/vellum. Once the drawing is done on the tracing paper, the treated material the finished product will be on is exposed thru the drawing by bright light ( artificial or sunlight ). Then the material is exposed to chemicals that bring out the color. Some drawings undergo many revisions before the final product is made or as time goes by, revisions are added/removed to/from the original drawing. When they need an up to date version, they just repeat the original steps to get the new print.
I've had the Vellums for the Presidential Communications Car ( USA 87325/SC-1 ) in my hands. Also a set of blueprints that were made that were sent to the White House for changes. There were some very noticeable changes and if you looked very closely at the drawings, you could see the old parts that were changed. They would not show up on the new prints though as they were that faint from being erased.
What a great piece of history. A really knowledgeable guy who breathes authenticity. I'm Scottish so had little trouble understanding the commentary but I wonder if subtitles would be useful to help reinforce the explanation. Thanks for posting and hopefully we'll visit sometime. Keep up the good work. 😁
Glad you enjoyed it. Subtitles are included. Just click the subtitles icon below the video
Next April going to start growing a shirt or blanket for me...
one of the lost arts thank you for keeping it alive
Thank you. My grandmother and I used to do this together, almost exactly the same way. I'd like to start my own little patch soon.
On a molecular level, linen has a long chain length which makes it so tough and why we have so much linen fabric and paper that is two thousand years old and more. A delightful video and very interesting to watch. Thank you so much!
Thank you for your comments. Linen is indeed a tough and long lasting fabric.
Thank you kind sir for the wonderful lesson! And I thought flaxseed was just a diet supplement!
This is one of the most interesting videos on how to make linen. I love to wear linen in the summer. It's so nice and cool and I had no idea it was so labor intensive. Thank you for showing us how linen is made. I love that you showed us from the beginning, planting the seed to the harvesting of the threads.
This is the old way. They have machines now
I agree, it is so interesting! Now I see why linen is so expensive, but worth it !
Thank you. I am still using my great grandmother's linen pillowcases from the 1800's. It is still my favorite fabric.
El Fraser Wow! How much have you "used" them? What I mean is, do you put them on your pillows regularly or just a couple times a year etc. Are they a natural color or have they been dyed or embroidered etc. Did she make them herself?
I also prefer linen, ive purchased vintage linens at thrift shops and find nothing as soft and cool as a well used linen pillow slip. They feel so powderey and smooth..my teenagers even fight over them!
mindy fussner Linen is a really hard-wearing fabric, that's probably why it got used for sheets. When the centres got worn down, they would resew the the sides together, so that the sides became the centre.
shannie medrano where do you find vintage linens??
@@luciatilyard2827 my mother did that with my sheets as a child (which I think were linen) I refused to use them after that though, I hated it! that line of thick sewing in the middle completely spoilt the luxurious feel :( I would have rathered keep using without that split until they wore the whole way through. Maybe I'm spoilt, but it just really upset me as a kid to have sheets that to me still had lots of use in them & were SO comfy have that done to them
I just clicked on this bc he looked so precious in his cap.
Edit: now I'm completely fascinated with this process.
A lot of work goes into making the linen fibre
Wonderful. This is a Masterclass of linen making not just a demonstration. Magnificent.
I knew my linen handkerchiefs were nothing to sneeze at.
Moira Egan but that’s exactly what they’re for.
Moira Egan Ahh I see what you did there!
Ahh So I’m not the only one that uses a handkerchief.
@@fauxty I've developed a nose for finding high quality linen handkerchiefs and now have quite a wardrobe of them, most of which are new old stock from ebay. They make nice little gifts for those who appreciate linen - and lace.
Lol
Such a huge amount of work. We take so much for granted now. Thank you.
Now i see why linen was so expensive back in the day
In some places it is still kind of expensive
@Markus Patients well, if women are never satisfied, then doesn't that mean women have more ambition than men?
Not just linen. A well-made garment was something you'd pass down from generation to generation because making clothing was labor intensive when you considered everything from start to finish.
It’s hard to find linens today, and when you do they’re not cheap from my perspective.
@Markus Patients Hate to break it to you but people have been making clothing this way a lot longer than hundreds of years lol. While some cultures did use animal skins, in a time and area where such things were plentiful fabric clothing predates even agriculture. I believe the current oldest flax fabric is dated at 34000 years old and was dyed. Of course such fabrics as well as skin clothing rots away very quickly so it could be even older than that easily. SInce plant clothing is made of thread, which is just thin rope.........which was probably one of humanities first inventions I see no reason why clothing made of such materials wouldn't be almost as old. Everyone could weave.........everyone could make rope/thread. It's actually quite a short jump to clothing. It's also something you can do all day every day whereas hunting is not. Not to mention leather clothing is hella hot in warm climates. I suspect fabric clothing was more popular in most parts of the world.
I am so grateful for that demonstration. My 3rd great grandfather was a linen draper - I can only guess he was Irish being a Brady but finding his birthplace is a bit of a minefield LOL! I have always wondered how the linen was made - it has been so interesting to watch, many thanks. xxx
Many thanks for watching and for your feedback
Your great grandreland it is a cavan name family could be from cavan in Ireland
And I complain if I have to wait in line at Joanne's fabric.
lol
Absolutely brilliant.....my ancestors HARGAN.....came from that part of Ireland.
Not anymore, huh? 😉
Most thankful for the demonstration and the charming mannerisms of the narrator. Wonderful video!
I'm a needleworker and prefer to stitch on linen. I've seen this video twice now and it's still mesmerizing. The process is so fascinating! It also makes me appreciate why the cost of linen is so gasp-inducing, especially when I need a large piece for a project. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. (Also, I live in Florida and that lush grass is giving me serious lawn envy! You could nap on that stuff. Ours is sad in comparison.)
I did a very small batch of yucca fiber last summer, which is very similar to sisal, if not the same thing. The leaves I dew rhetted smelled of sweet hay, but the fibers were dusty and weak. As an experiment, I threw a handful in a 5 gallon bucket, and forgot about them. A month later, i found them, and when I tell you it was the most putrid, noxious smell I've ever sensed, but you could take them in hand and just pull the fibers out of the green mush effortlessly. I'd just pinch the leaf and run my hand up. A quick rinse in clean water and I had pristine, strong, shiny yucca fiber that looked like synthetic doll hair. It stunk, God did it stink, but I left it hanging near the barn and I a few weeks the smell was gone. Twisted it into some 3 fiber thread with an improvised drop spindle that was basically a stick with a nail in it, then just kept spinning the threads into counterspun strings. Then a small rope.
@@waiata216 and your comment was unnecessary AND stupid. 2 in 1!!! 👍😉🤣😂
Thank you, Max. I found this very interesting as I too am from the Phoenix area. So cool how every area is able to use their indigenous plants!
Wayne Gatfield how rude!
witchy hour I’m always amazed and shocked at the disgusting replies from many “people” on UA-cams comments section! It’s like the worst people in the world have been given free reign to spew their filth. How something as benign as making linen can result in this kind of response, is beyond unbelievable! It’s so sad at how low people can sink and drag others down with them. Living in this world is hard enough, we are supposed to be uplifting each other, not ridiculing and insulting others. Thank you for this video, I find it calming.
maxdecphoenix interesting. Thank you for sharing.
Fantastic video. Would love to see the linen spun and woven aswell!
I''m a spinner and weaver in Australia. Still have some hard to come by raw Flax ready for spinning. The method is quite different to spinning wool as the fibre is pretty coarse. My ancestors in eastern Europe used to grow flax, but also extra extracted oil from the seeds. I'm eating Linseeds when I have a twinge near my liver, which soon disappears like magic. A very multi useful plant. Thanks!
The oil is also given to breast cancer patients to prevent the new development of cysts. It's the linseeds that combat cancer recurrence.
This is a heck of a lot of work! I make handmade bobbin lace from linen threads. Reading about the process and seeing it done are two different things! It is an amazing process...
I have my mother's lace making supplies. She is German and used to make lace.
I didn’t understand a damn word he said but he seems nice, bless him.
Vessel of Shimmy I found after a few shots of Irish whisky, he was easily understood.
I struggled with his accent also.
😂@@horsehide3039
I had to turn on the subtitles but Love, love, love, his accent!
@@pheonix75287 I would only catch a word or two here and there. Kinda of crazy that we are speaking the same language. Yep, subtitles are useful.
Thank you for the video.. No wonder why linen fabric is so expensive
And why some linens are so soft and others scratchy and stiffer.
When I lived in New Hampshire, I did living history events of the 18th century. I sewed my own clothes. Coarse Linen was the fabric. I made shirts and breeches of the stuff. It was incredibly durable, strong, comfortable. A great material to work with.
Had to watch this for my online homework, love the music 🎶
Love watching these traditional how to videos. This one was ranked high in my book
I thoroughly enjoyed watching you loving teach us how this is done. I've always loved natural fibers as linen and had no idea how it gets to finished product.
I didn't even know it was flax!
That was so beautiful to watch.
Thank you!
I never knew how linen fabric was made from flax seed back in the day. I enjoyed watching this demonstration!
Thank you Sir!
Is it made from seed?
@@georgegordonbrown9522 - Of course, you have to plant them first though.
Thank you for your video! My little daughter was so impressed. Now we want plant some and do our yarn.
That’s a lot of work! People in the old days worked very hard! It makes you wonder how the first people to ever weave linen figured out how to process it. I’m sure that many plants were experimented with.
Valerie H we've been doing "science" since we first learned to cook foods
Al Hen That’s true!
EGYPTIANS of Kemet made linen as well as ''paper'' from papyrus aka ''rushes'' what he used to tie the bundles. really it was not alot of work if thats all you did all day. ''many hands make light work''
Yara Mery Yes, but unless one lived a communal life there were *many* things that needed to be done during any given day.
@@valsedonia The oldest living culture in the world is Australian Aboriginal, so they're often a great reference point to figure this stuff out (if looking properly & not at European propaganda) They have extensive hair based clothing. Women would continually grow their hair & then cut to produce fibres for making clothing, bags etc. The development of weaving techniques can still be seen in the various hair fibre products available, with finer/more advanced weaving techniques used for clothing, while rough techniques are used in bags & other more durable items.
Presumably for fibres like linseed (hemp's the same & even more likely to have come first), people were probably eating the seeds & leaving the fibres & probably noticed on returning to the location some months later that some fibres had naturally reeted & split & were lying around on the ground in a form close enough to the final product to prompt them to experiment with the other partly decomposing plants in the same location to discover they could create a hair like fibre by collecting & working the stems at the same time as collecting the seeds.
It could also have been that they used fresh hemp as a twine to tie up logs to make shelters & then found it split over time into various fibres that were even more useful (hemp has rough outer fibres that are used for rope & soft inner fibres that are used for clothes) & so they might have then refined the weathering process to intentionally separate them before beginning to use & once they'd stumbled across one fibre that did that, they probably tried it will all fibres, especially if moving to new locations that didn't have the old fibre they used in that way
flax & hemp aren't Australian, nothing on them in what I'm about to suggest, but if you want to learn more about early agriculture & how humans figured a lot of this stuff out, there's a book called "dark emu" that is a fascinating look at the extent of agriculture & development of this nature in a way that is completely foreign to what we think of as "civilisation" today, lots of incites as to how working the environment for our needs really happened
now "flaxen-haired" as you read in old books really means something to me!
Thanks for watching
If only we still did things this way we would be so much healthier.
This Polish girl enjoyed this.
Aye you willing? Lol
My goodness, Colm Clarke works quickly & efficiently, but you can feel the love & pride in everything he does. Wonderful video, thank you so much especially to Mr Clarke for sharing his knowledge & skill with us.
But seriously it is a beautiful video including the music.
So my ancestry is from there, but I couldn't understand a word he said, yet I watched every second of it, fascinated.
Shakaama I’m Irish, living in Ireland and I could barely understand what he said! The Donegal accent can be tough! I used to go up North and my ex’s brother would talk to me, I’d smile and when he left I’d ask what he’d said, could never understand him!
You can try listening with the subtitles turned on - they're pretty good.
I understood almost everything and I'm from America.
Shakaama - So .. your ancestry certainly isn’t from Donegal. Twat.
Can't judge a book by its cover, some genetics either.
Thank you for this, I had no idea how linen was made or who much work was required. I hate polyester!
With intelligence and persistence and, yes, WORK, this man has been able to create a useful ART and HOMAGE to MOTHER EARTH
He stooked the flax exactly as I used to stook wheat sixty years ago :-)
Woah that's really cool
This pleases me to know that we are among the people (younger and older and all in between) who care and keep sharing along the arts-&-crafts and SKILLS and TALENTS of 'yesteryear'. I learned hand-embroidery as a child & at the knee of my 'town' Grandmother. Farming and gardening at the behest of and with further encouragement from my 'country-farm' Grandmother. I'd love to learn more about spinning of wool from sheep &/or alpaca because I've learned weaving with a floor loom AND also off-loom weaving as custom-made art pieces to give as gifts &/or to possibly sell for added income. Wouldn't you just love to accept this gent's invitation and actually go to Donegal , Ireland and the Heritage Centre there? (I hope to also return someday.... no later than year 2020...to the Irish Folk Village in County Clare, Ireland......... not far from Limerick City and also Cork City.... the "Butter-Making" capital of the world on the banks of my own "Lovely Lee" River.
Would love to hear more about what stooking wheat was like and what it was used for.
"Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves.."
@@janetbedford7562 - Oh please Janet DO follow through. These skills are dying out. If you stay to learn these skills you will be able to teach others. We may still have a hope. Thank you, Janet!
Now I understand why Irish Linen is so expensive. Such a time- and labour- intensive process. Very interesting video. Thanks for uploading. Cheers.
From the middle of California....this is fascinating! Thank you so much for taping and sharing. Fascinating...
same here but from the southwest corner of Washington state U.S.A. Would loved to have been able to learn then teach my children and their children as well.
We're pleased you enjoyed the video. It's great to see that we have viewers from the sunny West Coast
Kayinfso Here thank you so much very informative
Thank you.
I am from California too.
Very informative.
Admiring this demostration from Brasil!
I loved watching this man do his thing. My dad passed when I was a child so I love hearing and seeing an Irish man doing work
Man, runescape graphics have really improved since I was a kid.
I was thinking they missed a trick by not having one of the old school songs playing in the background instead.
It took me 3 minutes to figure out what was wrong. I kept checking the music on my game being sure I turned it off. The mental dissonance this caused is surprising.
Do you know what music they used?
This comment needs more ups
I'd say this is a live action Skyrim farm with flax instead of wheat. The flax bundles look identical to the wheat bundles found in Skyrim.
That was a beautiful illustration of linen-making (wish you'd shown the blue flowering time.) Thanks, Colm!
I am happy to see the old ways have not been forgotten. Thank you sir. Love it!!!
I love linen. I have linen sheets, linen t-towels, cloths made of linen, you name it. The more you wash and use it the softer linen gets too.
Holy crap! That elderly gentleman was working his Scottish hands to the bone! And we whine about throwing a load in the washer!😽Thankyou. Very interesting. Wish I COULD go visit him and his farm!😍
Yip, Colm is a hard-working man. He loves showing people how things were done in the past. He's a real gem with loads of passion for traditional ways. Thanks for your comments
Donegal is in Ireland and the speech patterns and accents are very similar to some areas of Scotland.
I love the accent. My ancestors came to America from Donegal. I imagine this is what they sounded like.
My ancestors also came to America from Donegal! Just curious... have you been there?
As a seamstress, and have worked with linen, this is a great video to learn how linen was made back in the day. I do have some linen fabric (a loose weave), it is fantastic and silky in texture. Thank you!
I am growing flax on our farm. Have wanted to do this for long time. Am going from plant to cloth and it is beautiful and feels great when done. This video got me started, many thanks.
Me too in Wales, uk.
I grew my first crop of flax in 2021. Processed and spun it, then wove it into a small sample of cloth which is now pride of place in a display frame on our living room wall 🧱
It might be the first piece of linen cloth to be made in Wales for 300 years so I think it's special enough for the wall 😃
I watched lots of videos before attempting it and this video is one I come back to regularly, there's just something about it!
@@Eternal_Hope_Qwhat equipment you needed for this
Thanks and God Bless you for showing everyone the process of making linen. Makes us Appreciate our history. Love and God Bless from America! Uncle Jeff!
Our dad 86 yrs old explained how his mom our grandma
made linen from raw flax plants.It was before and during WWII.there were no fabrics,no shoes to buy.only exchange for some food.the money were not value. during the war Germans brought their Reischmarks but if no food around also not a value.
To get a nice colour like creamy colour they rinsed in the river then put on the ground under sunshine.again and again.because original linen came as ugly gray colour.our grandma had old Zinger saw machine.she saw a simple clouse for her,for our grandpa and their 5 kids.their neighbors usually ask her to make some clouse too for their families.they are paid by eggs,milk or chicken.
freedom freedom A real family hero,
Didn't know about this thanks. Here in New Zealand, we have a different plant we call "flax", a kind of wide leaved very tough grass, that grows to about ten feet high. The native Maori race used it to produce various woven goods, from baskets, to cloaks and belts for skirts, and twine etc.
Chuffpup I would love to trade seeds with you
Laura Curtiss Will see what I can do, I have a cousin who is a Maori weaver and knowledgeable about this. I could go and grab some seeds from my garden, as this flax grows everywhere. I'd hate to introduce some disease and wipe out the linen industry by being careless, so will check the protocol first. It may be available there as New Zealand flax (Harakeke) from garden centers etc. I've got your youtube moniker here so will get back to you. Thanks for your interest. There will probably be something on youtube about it.
Chuffpup aha now I get it...I was wondering how they get those tough grass skirts from this plant 😂😂.
And here it is 2020 and i'm fascinated with your teachings. Fascinating indeed. God Bless Us One & All💜🙏
I used to pick and spin flax in Seer’s Village back in middle school. I can tell you it is hard work.
Hahahaha...
I kind of liken this man to my GGGGrandfather Thomas Lockhart, who boarded the Ship Atlantic and brought his family to the US in 1831. I know little of him except for what I have researched on him. But I have reason to believe that he was a linen merchant in Ireland, and his family members included spinsters and a weaver. I feel like watching this gets me more in tune with my Lockharts :).
Jane Sawyer: That is so neat! I don't know too much about my ancestors, except that some portion of 'em came from Ireland.
Did you mean spinners"
@@orianeshiroma2924 On the passenger ship list after the women in this Lockhart family and some of the other women and girls on the ship was the term "spinster". I know, we know spinster as a women who are single and past marrying age. This is originally why I thought the older woman Hannah Jane among this family may have been Thomas's unmarried sister. But so was Anne Lockhart also listed as a spinster after profession, and she was only 16 then. So I don't think spinster referred to the marital status but that of yes a spinner. It was called spinster then.
We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. Those shoulders were broader than ours and their minds more acute.
You standing on the shoulders of many others around the world as well but glad to know you catching up
Speak for yourself, not everybody is a lazy hoot.
Those ancestors of ours would trade spots with us in a heartbeat if they had the chance. I'm old enough to have had and known my grandparents from the 19th century. They were all farmers. They grabbed onto every time and labor saving device that they could reasonably afford to lay their hands on as they came along. Like anyone they were sentimental about days gone by, but they didn't yearn for the "good old days" in terms of the amount of labor they had to do day in and day out. They appreciated and enjoyed how much easier life had become over the course of their lives.
just me ....How very, very true!
hey... i got up to level 3 of world of warcraft ! small am I ? I think not
I can see now why linen was so expensive. So different than the growing, harvesting, and manufacturing cotton. Wonderful, thank you so much for the demonstration.
When the apocalypse hits, y'all can come find me making traditional fine linen cloth based this video's instruction.
I'll trade you 1 pig, a bushel of beans, a bag of beads and a sealed jar of Grape Kool-aid mix for 5 yards of your finest linen!
Garnet I'll trade 2 fat pigs (no, not my ex'ses. but real pigs), two busheLs of beans, 2 bag of beads and .. okay.. one of my ex too.. to help me understand the instructions!
(not from the west and certainly not from around Ireland, Scotland)
I will steal all but yer undies Mr Kush.
@@coffeepot3123 ha! Jokes on you, I'm not wearing undies. :p
*+Coffee Jack* but it is precisely the UGs (uuooo-geeez, under governments) made out of natural linen that are long lasting, of highest quality and totally resistant to microbial activity.
(this is not to imply the "Mr Kush", others or your good selves have any bacteria, viruses on or in you or in any of your cracks, crevices).
WoW! Our Ancestors were made of stern stuff ..Amazing..! TY for posting!
Such back breaking work - now I appreciate the linen I buy for my embroidery. And treasure the Irish linens I have collected from charity shops over the years!
Guau. Thank you so much for your video. It's a honor to see somebody who knows so well the process of making a such an important kind if job. I would love to visit you and spin by hand your linen as I have been a spinner for more than thirty years. Thank you again.
Glad it was helpful!
Well done. I’d no idea the process was so intricate and lengthy. It’s marvelous you’ve preserved this in living hist. Thank you.
No wonder blond hair is called "flaxen". That finished product looks just like long blond hair...
Besides the flaxen hair word connection, I grew up calling snow- white hair kids tow-headed. It is from the very strong "tow" ropes they made from flax for boat ropes. That is not a term appreciated today if you say, "oh look at your cute tow-headed son."
@@lynettepatten904 People hear it today as "toe-headed" and then they really get confused! You have to see it in print to recognize what the original meaning of the term was. Thanks for explaining the original source of the phrase!
@@lynettepatten904 Hahaha people used to call my siblings and I tow headed, now I understand what it means. As a kid, I pictured a giant toe for a head!
@@lynettepatten904 My son was patted on the head many a time by someone calling him tow headed. His hair was the very color of the flax.
Charming! How much fabric could be produced from a plot like the one in the video? It's clearly a lot of work!