Linen: Spinning and Handweaving is an out-of-print (come on, Interweave!) practical bible on how to grow, process, spin and weave flax and flax-like fibers.

I am flabbergasted by the amount of content presented in these 200 pages.  I feel if I can just follow Patricia Baines’ instructions, I too will be able to do what the Beales did, which is really my goal for Peasant Tech independence vis-a-vis cloth production:

Percy and Rita Beales made a firm decision to learn to spin, dye, and weave linen when they moved into Percy’s old family home in North Lopham, Norfolk (where his ancestors had been linen weavers) in 1926.  Here they could use flax from King George V’s estate at Sandringham.  First they taught themselves to spin, which they both did superbly, before setting up a loom.  They vowed never to use machine-spun yarn, and only to use natural dyes, a vow they never broke.

That’s just wonderful!  See how making up for the lack of cultural memory is so consuming?  I’m so glad I have this book to help me learn.