Miniature Spinning Enzyme-Retted Flax Fibers

Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) fibers can be blended with other short staple fibers, such as cotton (Gossypium barbadense L. or Gossypium hirsutum L.), processed into a yarn, and then manufactured into a fabric. Enzyme-retting is a new, experimental method that decomposes the pectinaceous and matrix substances to separate cellulose fibers from shives using pectinase-rich enzymes and chelators. Spinning tests were used to determine how well fibers were assembled to form yarn and provided an indirect measurement of fiber properties. Miniature spinning allows expanded predictive strategies for ranking fiber production methods such as enzyme-retting and resultant yarns beyond traditional fiber testing.