Linen has been selected in the Weave Up! project because of its ecological properties (its cultivation requires very little water, the flax sub-products can be used, it’s biodegradable and breathable, etc.) It was also chosen because of its production history among European territory; it was a really important culture for baltic countries until the 80’s but since then they’ve lost all the production chain. While France is the main producer of linen-flax for the global market, even if it’s still a fragile industry.

The point of working with linen inside Weave Up! project was for European young designers to discover the whole production chain, learn about the specific know-how of it, and the various fields where it can be applied.

Led by the linen master designer Silvija Juozelskytė-Vaičiulienė, the linen group had the opportunity to have a discovery residency in the north of France in 2023, and then to have a dedicate time to work around flax fibres in the Vilnius Academy of Arts (Lithuania) in 2024. During this time, participants experimented with different flax-linen applications such as hand and computerized weaving, handbag prototype, three-dimensional fabrics, knitted fabrics for medical purpose, etc., with linen leftovers and by-products.