flax seed to linen?

In 2017 I grew flax seed. The easiest seed to find was in the bulk section of a local grocery store. I bought a few pounds of both organic brown and yellow varieties. I now know that food varieties will not make the longest fibers nor are they even the right specie. I also planted the seeds in a less than ideal configuration. Sometimes learning is done the hard way. I don't have any printed sources that talk about growing or processing linen and I was reticent to try to find any but those I could find online for free.

A better seed source would be Linum usitatissimum from the linked garden center or another reputable seller and planting should be done in a large garden (rather than strips) so it stands up against itself which may discourage branching.

Read more below for this crazy trial.
I began by germination testing the seeds like middle school classes do with beans on a wet paper towel in a plastic baggie...

Since they germinated successfully I carried on.

They grew... Around 100 days they were pretty much done blooming and a website told me that when the bottom was yellow and the tops are still green I should harvest. That week it rained so I waited and then life was life.... Harvest didn't happen until the hundred and somethingth day... I hope it's not too dried out!

I used traditional methods, pulling the entire plant and gathering in my hand until no more could fit and tying the bundle with a couple of the greener plants then just standing them up in the field in the sun.

The bundles are called shooks. I read somewhere that standing them in this way creates a convection current and will help with the drying.

In the middle of this experiment I was able to take Lexie's class, here's her blog. She had done this a number of times and it was exciting to hear about her process. She had a great handout that detailed the processing tools and fiber in different stages to touch.

Once the bundles were dry and the seed pods have matured, it's time for rippling (seed pod removal).

Retting happens after rippling. I have read that retting can be accomplished in a few different ways. Dew retting, leaving it out in the field and turning, river or pond. I was thinking I would use the little pond that forms on our property where it stays wet most years, but evidently some years, like 2017, it dries up! Oops!

Next thought was finding a pond to toss it in so I asked Galen of Blackthorn who lives on one and she graciously agreed and waded out in the cold fall water to a attach it to a boat mooring thing and hooked the bundle we had zip tied it into. She then weighed it down with rocks and promised to keep an eye on it.

Ten days later she decided that it was probably sufficiently retted/rotten and brought it back to me. It smelled... not nice, but I thanked her and spread it on my lawn in the sunshine to dry... once more.

The next steps include breaking the linen, scutching and hackling. I don't have the tools for these steps. After thinking maybe I would build them over the winter I decided to let someone else have their hand at it and gave the dried bundles back to Galen. I wonder how she'll make out with it and if it will produce any fiber for her to spin. I'll post again when I hear more!