Pembina Fibreshed Flax to Linen Project

Since the Pembina Fibreshed community came together five years ago we have discovered an abundance of wonderful protein fibre grown by sheep, goat and alpaca farmers in our area. With this Flax to Linen project we will also explore plant fibres through the entire process from seed to cloth. 

While many thousands of acres of flax are grown in Manitoba every year, the focus is on varieties chosen for edible seed production. Fibre flax varieties usually have longer stems more suited to producing fine fibres that are spun into linen, a natural fabric in use for more than 5000 years.

We have witnessed the growing support for local wool and alpaca fibres, and we believe that same enthusiasm will help create demand for local linen. We believe that this demonstration project can launch a vital discussion on establishing full scale linen production here on the Canadian prairies. 

Update for 2024 Flax to Linen Project:

We are in discussion about the plans for our flax to linen project this coming year. Watch here or join our newsletter for details.

The goals of the project are:

• to educate, engage and inspire our community around the idea of a local textile agriculture and the learning of new skills

• to grow and compare different varieties of fibre flax, learning more about how to maximize production of good quality fibres

• to process the fibres into linen yarn and fabric

• to continue researching opportunities for more commercial growing and processing of flax in our region

• to gather regularly to work together and share what we are learning

• to lessen reliance on other seed sources by saving seeds from our own crops

Check out our full flax growing guide here