Linen Project, Heron Corn Mill, Beetham

 Last year Heron Corn Mill, Beetham provided  seeds for people to grow flax  as part of a heritage project exploring the flax industry  in Cumbria from the Middle Ages.

When grown the flax was  harvested and the fibres woven into a narrow linen material which you can see on the embroidery frame below. 

You can also see some of the threads coloured with the plant based dyes.

 

 The mill asked for volunteers to embroider some of the dye plants that had been used to colour the threads.

Sandra volunteered and chose madder  as her dye plant.

She designed her Madder plant set within a loose frame, with a Medieval dyer at work.

Part of the frame was a range of sample colours obtained from madder varying from pale colours to pinky reds. 

The root is the important part of madder used for dyeing and so that was given prominence.

The Medieval dyer is using madder to dye threads and cloth.

The bottom edge was decorated with Medieval beasts using a range of plant dyed linen threads.

The title madder was embroidered

The finished panel is below.