PA Flax Project

Join the PA Flax Project and Friends of FDR Park for a hand-processing event alongside their cultural markets!

Join us and learn how fiber flax is both historically rooted in Pennsylvania, and how it remains relevant to the modern sustainable textiles market. Our expert Director of Sales and Education will be on hand to answer all your questions.

Fall 2026 is hitting the ground running: We have two events coming up later this week! Both events are at historical sites that share a mission of preserving our region's history. Flax Linen is part of that history, and we're excited to demonstrate how residents of both estates might have processed flax into golden spinnable fiber in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Wyck Historic House, Garden, and Farm in Germantown, Philadelphia, had flax spinning tools and woven linen pieces in their collection dating back to the 18th century, and made by the original residents of the estate. We've been offering programming with them since 2022 and are thrilled to be beginning this year's 3 event series with them tomorrow.

Kennett Heritage Center is having us join them as part of their Colonial Fibers Project this Sunday. Alongside our demo, Lynn Sinclair will be giving a brief talk about the Underground Railroad in Kennett Square, as well as a general history of the town.

Join us and learn how fiber flax is both historically trotted in Pennsylvania and remains relevant to the modern sustainable textiles market. Our expert Director of sales and education will be on hand to answer all your questions.

We have a Flax Story from our very own Janell Wysock, Director of Sales and Education here at the Pennsylvania Flax Project!

Janell's history with textiles began as a small child in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, when her grandmother gave her scraps of fabric to play with while making macramé hangers. Even then, Janell could tell the difference between synthetic and natural fibers, but of course didn’t yet have the knowledge of what this distinction meant. “I did know that I had a strong preference for the natural textiles, and particularly linen.” she said. This fascination led her to study and eventually work at Moore College of Art & Design, as well as develop her own knits and wovens business.

Folks have cultivated and transformed the flax plant in Pennsylvania since it arrived with the German and Dutch settlers in the 1690s. Janell's Flax Story shines a light on how flax remains relevant for Pennsylvanians today, and you can read the rest of it on our blog. Do you have a connection to flax? Tell us in the comments or send a private message!

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Join the flax experts on our team at Newlin Grist Mill's Fall Festival NEXT WEEKEND!

We'll offer a hands-on demonstration of how flax straw is transformed into spinnable fiber. Experience this sustainable fiber up close and personal, talk to us about our plans for a commercial scale mill, and our efforts towards a shift in our modern material culture. We hope you'll leave inspired!

Admission to the festival is free, but parking is $10 per car. Additional costs may apply for certain activities as well as food vendors. Shuttle buses between the parking area and the festival site will run every 15 minutes throughout the event.

Where does linen come from? The farm!

Today, there is no commercial infrastructure in the U.S. to produce flax fiber for linen. The PA Flax Project has a goal to bring a scutching mill online in Pennsylvania by 2029 to fill that gap.

Looking for fall activities with family and friends? Our Fall Festival is coming up on September 19th! This year, our Fall Festival will feature a variety of historic skills and trades demonstrations, such as a historic roofing demo by Bonner Master Roofing and a flax processing demo by PA Flax Project. There will also be plenty of kid-friendly activities, such as scarecrow making!

Free admission. Parking is $10 per car and free for members! Visit our website to become a member: https://newlingristmill.org/membership/

Some never-before-seen photos of our time with Alvin Ulrich last month! We spent a collective 30 hours in our processing studio carting 20+ samples of fiber flax varieties.

We are so inspired by experts in the international community, and we are honored to be joining them on this flax journey. We are full of hope with this successful season as we enter the next phase of establishing this industry in our state for the benefit of our farmers, our worker owners, our community and the planet.

The PA Flax Project will be very busy this fall, but changing our region's textile industry will require a diligent shift in material culture.

Join us and become a part of the shift! Stay up to date on where to find us at the link below.

Upcoming Events | PA Flax Project — PA Flax Project Join PA Flax Project's upcoming events and support sustainable flax farming and fiber industry growth.