Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

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Fiber tools: flax hackle

  • wcu_craft_revival-6103.jpg
  • This is an 1800s-era flax hackle; the creator of this item is unknown. After flax has been broken and scutched, it is hackled to remove the last of the plant material. The hackle was clamped to a table or held between the worker's knees. The flax stems or stricks are pulled repeatedly through the long metal teeth until a fine, smooth fiber remains. The strick is then ready for spinning. The box to the right of the teeth would be used to cover the sharp metal prongs. This hackle was constructed so that it could be hung on the wall when not in use. The hackle was collected by Frances Goodrich and donated to the Southern Highland Craft Guild in the 1930s.