Nontraditionally retted flax for dry cotton blend spinning

Extracting flax fibers from the stems of Linum usitatissimum plants has tra ditionally been a costly, labor-intensive process, largely restricted to Eu rope and Asia. The naturally long, strong fibers are typically processed on wet spinning machines that are not available in the United States. However , the resurgent popularity of flax has promoted an interest in devising mor e economical methods of producing and processing the fibers domestically. T his preliminary study investigates the use of flax fibers extracted by mech anical, chemical, and enzymatic retting as well as traditional (dew) rettin g methods. The experimental fibers show promise for spinning on common cott on machinery in blends with cotton. The research has produced a series of m edium-count, experimental apparel-grade yarns with an attractive appearance and acceptable hand. With refinement, chemical or enzyme retting can perha ps become an ecologically sound and cost effective method of producing flax fibers.