A historic textile material created by treating raw flax fibers so they can be spun on standard cotton-spinning machinery. The long flax fibers are steeped, boiled, and chopped to reduce their length and separate the bundles, resulting in a staple fiber that resembles cotton in texture and staple length. This process allowed mills to substitute domestic flax during cotton shortages.
Heard on the job
The mill records from the blockade era show a massive shift toward spinning flax cotton on the existing mules.
Insider tip
Processing flax this way destroys much of its natural strength and luster, making it a compromise material rather than a premium fiber.
Also heard as
- cottonized flax