I agree with what Alex has written but I have also read somewhere that the soil and growing conditions has some effect on the colour of unbleached flax/linen. Where the soil is rich in iron and has a reddish colour the flax fibres will absorb some of that colouring.
There is a lot of detailed info about flax retting here. http://www.astm.org/SNEWS/SEPTEMBER_2005/akin_sep05.html Brenda > > When flax is prepared to make linen thread it gores through a process called > retting. Traditionally flax stems are allowed to start rotting in order to > free the fibres either by leaving the cut stems outside so that dew forms on > them or by leaving them in water. One of these processes results in grey > fibres, the other ecru. So the colour of the unbleached linen is the result of > the retting process used and also the weather at the time and the time that > has been allowed for the process. Being a natural product the colour will > depend on the growing season and how the retting process in managed and will > vary from year to year. Brenda in Allhallows paternos...@appleshack.com www.brendapaternoster.co.uk - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
