All clothes were almost always made of linen which is made from flax.
Flax: a plant having small leaves, blue flowers and stems about two feet tall.
Flax was pulled out of the ground, not cut.
This backbreaking work was done mostly by men.
Half-ripe flax stems made the best thread.
If the stems were too ripe, they were used for mats and rope.
Flax stems were soaked for several days.
The fibers were separated.
Then the fibers were beaten until soft.
The spinner attached the fibers to the spindle.
The fibers were twisted into strong thread.
The weaving was done on a loom.
A loom is a frame made of two beams held by four pegs in the ground.
White linen needed constant washing. It was washed in the river or canal, rinsed, then pounded on a stone, and, bleached in the sun.
Linen clothes needed to be repleated every time they were washed.
To do so they pressed the linen into grooves on a wooden board and let it dry.
