From seed to shirt, Cindy Conner shows you how to plant, grow, harvest, process, spin, and weave cotton and flax into cloth from which you can sew your own clothes. And since cotton and flax are made from plants, when your clothes usefulness has passed they can also return to the environment without causing harm--a truly renewable and sustainable option for clothing.
Whether you live in colder climates where flax can thrive, or warmer climates where cotton does best, there is a sustainable option (or two, if you live in the temperate zone) for you. And it takes much less space than you would think; a backyard garden will do! This complete guide includes in-depth instructions on growing and harvesting, preparing the fiber for spinning, the spinning process for each fiber; the basics of weaving cloth; and suggestions on patterns and how to weave the pieces you need for clothing, and how to sew your woven pieces together. Cindy has been growing her own clothes for years and teaches the process in classes, so she includes all of her knowledge on potential pitfalls and how to avoid them in her thorough instructions on each phase.
You can grow your own flax and cotton and make clothes to your own style preferences. Its time to take the next step in sustainable living and make your own clothes in breathable and comfortable natural cotton and flax grown in your own backyard!
Cindy Conner received a degree in Home Economics Education from Ohio State University in 1975. She was instrumental in establishing the sustainable agriculture program at Reynolds Community College in Goochland, VA, while teaching there from 1999-2010. She had often sewn her own clothes, and her interest turned to sustainable clothing. In 2011 she learned to spin, then to weave, in order to turn her homegrown cotton into clothes. Since many people can’t grow cotton due to climate limitations, she added flax (which has a wider range) to her garden and learned to turn it into linen so that she could teach this process to others. She is the author of Grow a Sustainable Diet and Seed Libraries and Other Means of Keeping Seeds in the Hands of the People.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 01. Why wear homegrown, handspun clothes?
Chapter 02. Growing Flax for Linen
Chapter 03. Retting
Chapter 04. Breaking and Scutching
Chapter 05. Hackling
Chapter 06. Spinning Flax into Linen
Chapter 07. Growing and Harvesting Cotton
Chapter 08. Preparation for Spinning
Chapter 09. Spinning Cotton
Chapter 10. The Cotton Project
Chapter 11. How to Manage Spun fiber
Chapter 12. Turning Yarn into Fabric
Chapter 13. Clothes to Make
Chapter 14. Guilds, Fiber Festivals, Fibershed Movement
Chapter 15. Spirituality of Handspun Cloth
Glossary
Resources
Appendix A: Quick Reference
Appendix B: Tabletop Flax Brake
Appendix C: One-Yard Swift
From an introductory class at John C. Campbell Folk School, Cindy’s knowledge grew through research and experimentation. Beginners through advanced will find this book filled with history, hands-on knowledge, practical ideas, and helpful resources…a wealth of information. — Cassie Dickson, weaver and teacher of flax-to-linen classes
