A Random Thought

While I was sketching idea's for my logo I started thinking about what images I could use to signify linen, as it was the primary foundation of Utrecht.  It then occurred to me that I have no idea how linen is made, so in the spirit of random research I looked it up. 

apparently, linen is made from flax seeds (as is linseed oil).  The flowers are grown in fields and harvested.  The flax is pulled from the ground from the roots and then must be retted, a process which involves either submerging them in water for a few days (which yields a gold-ish thread color), or done in the field with morning dew, which could take up to six weeks and yields a silver-ish thread color. Retting allows bacterial action to cause the stalk to loosen and decompose. The flax is then laid out to dry and de-seeded by running a 'comb' through the stalks.  In the final stage the fiber is drawn through a series of combs to remove any remaining boom and tow,  called hackling.  Over 85% of the plant has been removed in the process of arriving at the end product called strick. The long thin fibers resembling human hair have to be handled carefully to keep them from tangling. A distaff is used to keep the fibers separate and in line during spinning. The flax wheel is traditionally a small wheel. The flax needs to be continually moistened while spinning.  After the thread is spun the yarn, now called linen, is stretched and boiled to set the twist put in by the spinning.

It's interesting that the seeds from a single plant are the basis of two major artistic resources for artists, linen and linseed oil.  For those not familiar with painting techniques, linseed oils is the binding medium in oil paints and is also used as a medium, either by itself or combined with turpentine or a combination of turpentine and damar varnish.