There are two main varieties of Linen also known as Flax. One has long relatively unbranched stems (32/48inches), and bears small seeds. This is textile flax. Another variety has shorter stems (20/30inches), and somewhat larger seeds. This variety is used for the production of oil. Both produce sky blue flowers, though ornamental garden varieties of the plant have been bred which have pale yellow, pink or white flowers. It is likely that the ancient Europeans also used the seeds for food. They are highly nutritious, (40% fat, 25% protein), have a nutty flavor, making a good addition to bread or porridge. Flaxseed is an excellent source of essential fatty acids useful in fighting inflammation both internally and externally.
        While the earliest use of linen is found in North Africa and the Mediterranean, fragments of flax in all stages of use; straw, seed and seed capsules, fibers, yarns, ropes, and various types of fabrics, were found near the remains of a Swiss lake dwelling dated about 8000BCE.
        Processing Flax is a long and somewhat smelly process. Once the fibers are mature, during the blooming period before the plant dies, the Flax must be harvested and dried. After drying the flax undergoes a process called "retting" which is a soaking for a period of days or weeks. This process promotes a bacterial action (the smelly part) which separates the different layers of the stem and loosens the fibers. After retting the flax is dried again and then crushed between the wooden blades of a tool called a break or brake. This breaks the woody core and outer layers into short bits that fall away from the mass of fibers. The fibers are then combed through a metal tinned comb called hackles. The result is a smooth, ponytail like bundle of long, straight tan or gray fibers called "line flax" and a separate pile of fluffy tangled fibers called tow. The line flax is used to make elegant, glossy fabrics, while the tow is used to softer, simpler everyday goods. As a woven cloth it is very durable, doesn't shrink, has excellent color fastness and doesn't lint.
        In most European cultures, flax was believed to be a beneficial plant-one that could bring good fortune, restore health and protect against negative outside influences. Flax's influence is so positive that it was believed that only positive magick could be practiced in the flax fields. To make the flax grow long and plentiful Yorkshire men would sit three times on the bag containing the seed and then face the East before sowing. It was also considered helpful if the bag contained a few stolen seeds.
        In Teutonic countries, the Goddess Holda in her positive aspect as a beautiful white woman associated with the sky and with water in the form of wells and lakes, presides over spinning and especially the cultivation of Flax. In Estonia, a spirit known as the flax mother looks after the flax and lives in the linen press. Among other Central European peoples, sickly children were placed in flax fields and had the seeds sprinkled over them so that they would thrive as the flax did. In a similar vein, people who were giddy were advised to run naked through the flax field three times, this would make the flax giddy and thus would cure them. This idea of flax absorbing illness was also known in Ireland, three pieces of tow (the short fluffy flax left from the combing the fibers) was believed to cure a stitch in the side if applied to the painful area. By looking at the Irish language we find that Linen is associated directly with prophecy, once the flax was spun, the resulting linen thread was made up into skeins or hanks and boiled in a homemade potash solution and spread on a grassy spot called a tuar or bleach green. The word also means omen, prophesy, merit. See the glossary.

Hemp and Nettles
        Hemp; Cannabis indica and Nettles; Urtica dioica were both used to make cloth. Using Hemp for making fabric dates back to 7000 BCE or earlier. The long fibers can produce fabrics ranging from thick matting, to canvas, to fine cloth. The word "canvas" is believed to have derived from the Latin "cannabis". Hemp canvas was used as ships' sails from at least 500 BC through the late 19th century. Nettle fiber is very similar to that of Hemp or Flax, and it was used for the same purposes, from making cloth of the finest texture down to the coarsest, such as sailcloth, sacking, and cordage. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century Nettle fibers were still used in Scotland for weaving the coarser household table linens. This yarn was particularly useful for making twine for fishing nets, the fiber of the Nettle being stronger than those of flax and not so harsh as those of hemp. The process used to extract it is similar to that of flax preparation.

Silk
        As mentioned earlier, silk thread was used to embroider garments during the Iron Age. A 600BCE barrow near Heuneberg revealed that a fragment of the interred woman's dress was embroidered with Chinese silk. Initially silk garments would have made their way from Asia to Europe as prestige gifts, old silk clothing would be unraveled and the thread used to embroider or woven with linen or other plant fiber to form new cloth. Later trade routes would ensure a steady supply from which clothing could be made for the very rich.

Wool
        Sheep (Ovis mouflon) have been part of the human equation for over 5,000 years. Current theory is that our modern domestic sheep descend from wild sheep known as Mouflon. Wild Mouflon can still be found in remote areas in Asia Minor, and in Europe on the srcislands of Sardinia and Corsica. These animals bear little resemblance to what we picture when we think of sheep, Mouflon look more like Bighorn Sheep of the Rocky Mountains than wooly domesticated sheep. Archeological evidence in the form of wooly sheep statuettes found in Iran together with Babylonian and Mesopotamian art and books, indicate that as far back as 3000BCE the common features of today's sheep were already appearing.
        Sheep are not native to Ireland but were brought in by early Neolithic people around 3430BCE. These may have resembled more the Mouflon than wooly sheep. Iron Age sheep remains from Dún Ailinne in county Kildare show that sheep in that area had an average height of 24 inches at the shoulder. Along with providing wool they may also have been milked but this is harder to verify, we do know that some sheep were eaten. However, they did not play a large part in food production, only 6-7% of bones found in most Bronze and Iron Age kitchen middens are those of sheep.
        After being sheared the wool was sorted combed or carded, depending on the type of cloth desired and then spun. The spinning wheel was only introduced in the 15th or 16th century, until that time all spinning was done with a drop spindle and distaff.