The source of our raw flax fibre was four Belgian varieties of flax (Vesta, Eden, Agatha, and Caesar Augustus) that we planted at the University of Calgary at the end of May 2023 using seeds from Helmut Becker’s flax research projects in Ontario. The combined dry weight of our flax plants after de-seeding was 8824 grams. For papermaking, we used line and tow fibre from all four varieties of flax. The final yield was 59 sheets (10.25 x 14.25 inches) weighing a total of 852 grams. The sheets of paper had a weight of 148 grams per square metre (GSM). Our total output weighed just under 10% of the original dry weight of the de-seeded flax.

To prepare the pulp, we tank retted the de-seeded flax for 11 days, dried the retted stalks, then dressed them using traditional tools and methods (breaking, scutching, and hackling). We cut the dry tow and line fibre into ¼-inch lengths with a guillotine cutter, then retted the fibre a second time in a 0.1% slaked lime solution for a period of three and a half months. After a three-hour unpressurized soda-ash cook (with soda ash at 25% of the weight of the dry flax fibre), the fibre was rinsed, then beaten for two hours in a Valley beater with a drum washer.

We cast our sheets on a traditional laid mould (10.25 x 14.25 inches) made by Brian Queen from mahogany with a phosphor bronze laid facing. We couched the sheets onto felts and dried the paper between blotters in a forced-air restraint drier.

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