Linen Stewards

Linen Stewards by The Linen Project is a handbook for anyone who wants to start a community around the cultivation of flax, the plant used to create yarn and linen fabric. The publication combines practical knowledge with inspiration for those who want to reconnect with the origins of their textiles and clothing. The project began with a simple yet fundamental question: what does it mean to grow, process, and create your own everyday textiles by hand? In 2020, the first group of “linen stewards” gathered in a flax field in the Dutch village of Hemmen. Among the blue flowering plants, they started a shared journey of learning in which material, nature, and community became central.
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Designer
Dana Dijkgraaf
Photographer
The Linen Project and Masha Bakker (book photography)
Editor
Carolien Evers, Joan den Exter, Hans Hutting, Ellen Rooijakkers and Marieke van Mieghem
Printer and producer
Enveloprint
Risoprints
Extrapool
Publisher
Crafts Council Nederland

Concept
Through learning by doing, the participants discovered not only the technical processes of sowing, harvesting, retting, and processing flax, but also a deeper connection to the landscape, to one another, and to the rhythms of nature. These experiences created the desire to share their knowledge and explore how Linen Stewardship could be transferred to new communities.

In 2023, a research group of linen stewards continued this exploration through literature research, conversations, and the exchange of personal reflections. Carolien Evers, Joan den Exter, Hans Hutting, Ellen Rooijakkers, and Marieke van Mieghem collaborated with graphic designer Dana Dijkgraaf to translate these insights into a practical and inspiring handbook. The publication is rooted in five years of collective experience and created to help carry Linen Stewardship further into the world.

What did we create?
The design reflects the values of the project: attention to material, sustainability, and a contemporary approach to craftsmanship. A calm sans serif typeface gives the book a professional, timeless, and modern character, with a subtle reference to fashion and textiles. All text is printed in blue, an abstract reference to water, an essential element in both the cultivation of flax and life itself.

Sustainability was central throughout the production process. Most of the book was produced and printed in Dinxperlo, with risoprints created in Nijmegen, both close to Arnhem, where the designer and The Linen Project are based. The publication combines Vibers, an unbleached paper made from elephant grass, with Biotop, an uncoated FSC certified paper produced without optical brighteners.

The handbook consists of an information book and a workbook. Chapter openers are printed using the environmentally friendly risograph technique with soy based inks. Both parts are held together with lilac and blue elastics inspired by the colors of flax flowers. An envelope inside the book allows readers to store a piece of self made yarn, while the ring binder gives the publication a practical and hands on character.

Sparkles
The publication invites readers not only to learn, but also to create, preserve, and continue exploring. Through the combination of natural materials, sustainable production methods, and a tactile design, the book itself becomes part of the philosophy behind Linen Stewardship: caring for materials, processes, and the connection between people and nature.

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