1. Different scales of flax fiber

Flax is a bast fiber that comes in the form of a stem composed of a woody core surrounded by a sheath containing the fibers (figure 1 ). These fibers must therefore be separated from the wood through a bacteriological process in a humid environment, known as retting, which is usually carried out by spreading the stems, which have been previously pulled up, on the ground in the field for several weeks. Next, the mechanical process of scutching continues this separation, producing fiber on one side and wood on the other.