Flax flowers from my homeland....

This time it was not so easy creating for the Challenge with the theme: Let your entry be inspired by the traditional costumes of the country where you were born .This challenge is hosted by Kraplap. find her blog and the other entries here.

I did not find much information about traditional clothing in Belgium, I am sure there must be, but I had not the time to do much research!

So, I know Flanders was well known for it's lace (especially Bruges) and I learned making lace doilies when I was a child, so I have the skills to make myself a piece of lace, but all material lays stocked up at my mothers and I really hadn't the time to hop over there!
But I thought of something I also have a connection with: linen.

My parents almost grew up between the flax fields and both my grandparents were working in the flax agriculture. When I was young , the flax industry was in a crisis as cotton and synthetic fabric (which were much cheaper) became more important.

But nowadays increasing worldwide demand for linen makes it again important. Flax is one of the few crops still produced in Western Europe, with nearly 130,000 acres under cultivation annually. Climatic conditions in this region are perfect for growing flax!
Here you can find more about the huge work it is from Flax to linen.

Linen is crisp, clean and comfortable. Soft, yet strong and durable. The more it is used, the softer and stronger it becomes. It can absorb up to 20% of its weight in moisture before it feels damp, and easily releases moisture to the air to remain cool and dry to the touch. Flax remains colorfast and launders beautifully. It has the additional advantage to be non-allergenic. Flax requires considerably fewer pesticides and fertilizers than other crops. The fibers are recyclable and eventually biodegrade.

So I found the material for my challenge entry: something typical for the region where I was born: linen.
I used a dark grey linen fabric and combined with light lilac (the color of the beautiful flax blossom) sugulite stones and dark lilac ribbon. The silver chain and hoops go very well with these colors.

Available in my shop.