Scutched flax was kept dry as gunpowder and then combed.
A woman usually combed three "nickels" or half of "Kirby" for the evening. The first combings were done with a large iron brush. This fibre was the lowest grade. The second combings were done with a smaller brush made of bristles. After that, to the floor fell fibres of average quality. The pack of flax becomes even thinner.
The remaining fibre in it is the best. It looks like a thick maiden braid, stacked in neat "eights" when you carry them bundle them in groups.
"In the hut, a maiden sings and spins, and at winter night, the lighting splinter is cracking in front of her."
A.S. Pushkin
A peasant Russia for many centuries was dressed in sheepskin and canvas. Plush, folded velvet, Chinese silk, and English wool peasants rarely needed.
Nevertheless, in the most recent era, the peasant was taught how unseemly he looks in a sheepskin coat or a shirling - in these hot, light, durable, cheap and comfortable clothing. And then, hardly a "public" opinion weaned the people from the sheepskin coat, peasants almost completely abdicated their own traditions, and all the young people rushed to buy cold, stuffy, but bright synthetic Japanese jackets, just at this time price tanned Russian fur coat grew in price dramatically. For a tanned sheepskin that sometimes a man put in bad weather on a chilled gelding, now people would give everything up to a costly Japanese portable radio.
But leave the sheepskin in the piece; it deserves its own conversation… So instead, let's go back to the canvas. How many yarns had done a Pushkin's singing girl if a multi-million Russia used to wear linen clothes? However, it's not only about quantity. Beautiful, careful processing of flax allowed wearing underwear almost all your life, even passing on an inheritance.
Clothes were used for many years, household products made of linen - towels, headscarves, tablecloths - also served several generations. But unfortunately, only working mittens didn't last long enough for hard workers.
Combed flax was divided based on the quality of three grades and was tugged, pulled and fluffed. This big fluffy ball was evenly spread on the table, sprinkled with water and gently rolled in rope. For one tow, it takes half of the good fibre from the lowest grade - twice as much. Next, a soaked at the sides tow was rolled, brushed, the ends tucked in, and it was finally dried. Ready tows stood side by side. The height of the tow also depended on the owner's taste and the age of a spinner. For a teenage girl, tows were made more petite - relatively small, like a toy for a child.
Spinning was done only in spare time. It is no accident girls and women were judged by the quality of the yarn. To not become one of the lazy ones, it was necessary to make not less than forty raps by the end of the Filippov Lent. For one evening, you can spin a yarn of one rap. This will create a one-bed sheet. But a good spinner could spin two.
In the terse and harsh families was a habit: going to spin a yarn to the neighbours, to another house, because other people do not doze off at the yarn spinning, and you will strive to make no less than others. So, in fact, a blessing in disguise!
The severity of the custom suddenly turned around by the other end: long spin-ns themselves turned into conversations, funny and transient. Together, the girls spun and sang, on the go inventing couplets, told tales and gossiped. These parties used to come over also guys with balalaikas, started singing competitions, their young people could dance and play games.
Sitting at the spinning wheel, a girl with her left hand stretched out the fibre from the tow, and with the thumb and forefinger of the right-hand span the spindle. A thread was fastened with a unique loop on the sharp spindle, twisted till reach of the arm, diverted farther and farther to the right and slightly back. The spinner needed a lot of places on the bench. After stretching a thread, the spinner stows it first on the fingers and then wounds it on the spindle.
Some spinners interrupting the singing constantly spit for the strength of the twisted thread. Bad quality flax (with the chaff) cracked during spinning. The thread would become too thick, and yarn wound in quickly, causing the spinner to become self-ironic. Sound flax was spinning with a characteristic rustle. It was spanned out uniformly, and the thread could be easily moved to the other side of the spindle. Songs, jokes, stories, games during such parties reduced exhaustion during spinning yarn and its apparent monotony.
On holidays or between the Lents, such conversations turned into games, but girls dressed up and left the spindles at home. At the revels, fun, songs and dances prevailed, while work and fun were closely intertwined at the work parties.
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