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Making Linen

from the recollections of Laban Becker Harley circa 1870-80

The only crop of flax that we used for cloth was grown in the field north of the woods. I remember being out there with father to pull it and bind it in small sheaves about the size of a stove pipe. It was dried then, but I don't recall how we got the seed off. There was an opening on the side of the hill west of the barn, where the tobacco shed stands, where they had taken stone out. I think that was used for drying the flax and broom corn.

After it was thoroughly dry, we put it in a breaking machine. Click for enlargementYou took a handful and broke the stalk into short pieces. Then we used the scutching block, by taking a handful of broken stems, holding it over the top of the back of the block, and used a wooden sword to break it further and knock off all the lint. After it was broken we used the hackel by drawing the stems back and forth over the spikes many times until nothing was left but the tow.

When they had a pretty big handful of tow, they twined it up like plaiting hair, but only two strands, instead of three. Click for enlargement

Then before spinning it, they opened up the plait and fluffed it out, and put it on top of the staff (round pointed thing), on the spinning wheel. Then the spindle was what the spool was on to reel the thread on. They twisted it on the spool, feeding it in, treadeling with feet, just so thick for the thread. This was mostly done in the winter time, in the sitting room at night. Later, when they wanted to make cloth, they'd go to the weave house, put the thread in the loom and weave all the linen and carpet. Click for enlargement

We wore linen pants which washed out white. We had the only loom that was close and neighbors came for miles bringing their carpet rags to be woven.

The weave house was out near the bake oven. It was an old house, a story and a loft; frame, with a half cellar under it. It was used to store old things in. It had a log cut out to store the soft soap in. Later, when I got to working with the bees, I had a box made and lined with tin to put the comb honey in. I kept that in the cellar.

On the first floor was the loom.

Mother also had the big wool wheel in there. We took the wool to Milton to get it carded, and it came back in skeins. Then she used the wheel to get the wool on spools. Mother had a stick in her hand, gave the wheel a whirl, would walk up to it with the wool in her hand, and the wheel would wind the thread up on the spool. Then they wove flannel on the loom from the wool. They did this mostly in the winter untill it got too cold, because there was no stove in that little house. We wore flannel shirts all winter made from this. Sometimes in the 1870's they sold the loom, when I was a kid in my teens. They didn't weave after that. Over time, the windows were broken out, so I put in new glass and it became my shop.

 

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