The 100% Amsterdam Textiles project demonstrates how circular textiles can be revived in Amsterdam and how local makers, materials, and processes are deeply intertwined with the city's heritage.
Imagine: Amsterdam is once again becoming a textile city, as it was in the Late Middle Ages, where makers complement each other in their specialisms and work together to create high-quality products. Plant fibres are sustainably processed into high-quality fabrics, such as linen. Dyes are carefully extracted from plants. In this process, sensitivity prevails over speed and the lowest price. Not only professionals, but also city residents play a role. This creates new connections with materials, traditions, the surrounding nature and each other. They form the links in a sustainable mini production chain that fits in with the city's circular ambition.
Waag FutureLab is bringing this vision to life with “100% Amsterdam Textiles”. To mark “Amsterdam 750”, Waag's TextileLab is collaborating with The Linen Project* to create a local, sustainable, museum-worthy garment for Mayor Femke Halsema.
The red and coral-coloured linen jacket is produced from plant to fabric within the city limits and pays tribute to Amsterdam's manufacturing culture, based on sustainable, circular processes. What traditional craftsmanship and materials does Amsterdam have to offer today, and which have been lost? What does it mean when the city not only consumes products, but also participates in their production again?
TextileLab lead and co-founder Cecilia Raspanti: "Until the mid-18th century, Amsterdam had a thriving textile industry. Unfortunately, much of that knowledge, traditions and rituals have been lost. The modern city is somewhat blind to the beautiful materials and knowledge it has at its disposal. This has to do with the spirit of the times: we have continued to optimise our textile production. What if we were to redesign that industry, not based on speed and low costs, but on inclusion, craftsmanship and love for materials?"
What if we were to redesign that industry, not based on speed and low costs, but on inclusion, craftsmanship and love for materials?
Project manager Isabel Berentzen: ‘With 100% Amsterdam Textiles, we want to make tangible what working with local materials and makers according to circular principles means. The common thread in the project is a deep respect for materials and the crafts of the makers – also among themselves. The jacket for Halsema is the sum of the dedication that each person has added to it.’
Only 25 square metres of flax were available for the jacket. As a result, the production process relied heavily on the expertise and trust of the makers involved. Berentzen: "There was no extra material for “test patches” to experiment with and make mistakes. The jacket had to be right the first time. All the makers stayed connected to each other's processes online and offline. That was crucial when working with limited materials. The success is thanks to their care and love for the process, which allowed them to anticipate what was best for the material, both individually and in consultation with each other."
Processing flax
Flax, the basis for linen, formed the backbone of the Dutch textile industry for centuries, particularly in regions with clay soil such as Zeeland, parts of North Holland, Friesland and Groningen. The plant is sown, harvested and pulled by hand to preserve the length of the fibres. This produces the highest quality fabric. This is followed by “retting”: the stems are exposed to moisture so that pectin, a kind of natural glue, breaks down. The process of breaking, scutching and hackling transforms the raw flax plant into workable fibres, separating it from the woody parts. The flax is sorted by length and twisted into flax bales before it can be spun.
The project started on two former car parks at the Marineterrein, where Guusje Heesakkers of The Linen Project took on the task of growing and caring for the flax.
"Flax from the city can be very beautiful, but the result remains dependent on circumstances, such as the soil and the weather. For example, flax grows less well in dry conditions. Rotting outside also remains a challenge, even for experienced people: you have to constantly check a few fibres to see if the woody parts are coming off properly. When the time comes, you have to act quickly, or it will be at the expense of your fibre quality. The process cannot be summarised in a manual; you have to develop a feel for it.”
Joan den Exter, also involved in the Linen Project, was responsible for the development of the flax together with Willemien Ippel as coordinator. Den Exter: "Healthy soil is crucial for the quality of the flax. Previously, the plot at the Marineterrein was overgrown with weeds, which affected the soil. That's why the soil first had to be thoroughly worked. The seed is also important for a good result: The Linen Project uses only organic seed, because we believe that organic farming is the only future-proof solution."
Den Exter: "Participation and stewardship are essential for the revaluation of local textiles. ‘Only when you stand on the land yourself and grow flax with a group of people do you understand how the plant grows, what good soil is and what the weather does to the fibres. You start to look at your environment differently: when it rains, you can't sit on the terrace, but it is very good for the flax.’
That is why The Linen Project works with a “shared stewardship” model: a way of working together based on three building blocks: shared responsibility, knowledge sharing and active citizenship. So-called “flax stewards” guarantee this working method in various projects.
Flax steward Marieke van Mieghem supervised the flax processing for 100% Amsterdam Textiles: "By going through all the steps manually, you get to know the material and see exactly how each action affects the end result. For example, I had to spend a week hackling because the fibres were difficult to separate. That led to material loss, but also to a beautiful shiny golden “Amsterdam” colour."
‘The beauty of this project is that the limited material partly determines the conditions. In fashion, that realisation still hasn't sunk in: that you can design not only based on form, but also based on material; that in doing so, you show more respect for what you use.’
Spinning
Flax spinning is a delicate and complex craft. After hackling, the fibres are sorted by length and formed into spinning roves. Short fibres are dry-spun for the weft yarns; long fibres are wet-spun for the warp threads. The twisting motion or “twist” differs for each yarn. Each spinner develops their own rhythm and signature style. Such knowledge, built up over many years of experience, is in danger of being lost in Europe. This has already happened in Amsterdam, forcing spinners to relocate to the north and east of the Netherlands.
Spinner Gea van Dijk spun the warp threads, which form the chain. Because these are subjected to a lot of stress, they must be thin but also quite strong.
‘I had already processed part of it when I was asked to spin the rest thinner, because there wasn't enough yarn. That way, we had just enough material for the weaving pattern that Eva had devised.’
‘It's difficult to explain what makes a spinner “good”. It's about the right fibre length, the consistent supply of material and the right twist. After fifty years of spinning flax, I know how to do that because it's in my fingers.’
Erna Evers and Heleen Lorijn, both spinners, were responsible for the weft threads. Lorijn: ‘We had to be very economical and spun everything down to the last tuft – even the brown fibres that were too short: the reerug. Normally, you only use the grey fibres: the hazelvel. Where the fabric turned out a little lighter, that's probably because of the reerug. In hindsight, that mottled effect turned out very nicely.’
‘The fibres were quite coarse and stiff, with a lot of variation in length. We had to put extra “twist” on the shorter pieces and they didn't always blend easily – I suspect because of the soil quality. By staying focused and taking our time, we managed to spin a nice smooth thread.’
Evers: ‘With three different spinners and two types of flax yarn, it is very difficult to spin evenly. Still, we had to do our best. If the threads are not roughly the same thickness, you get strange twists in the fabric and the threads absorb the dyes differently.’
The advantages of a careful, traditional manufacturing process lie in the rich structure of the thread and the satisfaction you get when you manage to turn such a complex material into something beautiful. What's more, spinning itself puts you in a state of zen. With a nice spinning wheel, you can spend hours working, which gives you a wonderful feeling.
Dyeing
Dyeing with natural dyes is a dynamic process, whereby the method must be tailored to the properties of the yarn, such as its fibre structure and quality. For the jacket, three-year-old madder was harvested at the Marineterrein, whose roots contain dozens of colour components ranging from deep brown to yellow. Depending on the dyeing method and the incidence of light, a vibrant depth is created that cannot be replicated with industrial dyes. Coreopsis (girl's eyes) was also used to create a warmer palette. The dyeing process was preceded by extensive research to understand how different pieces of flax and plant dyes react to each other.
Cecilia Raspanti, who also dyed the yarns, says: "When I dye, I constantly pay attention to what is happening, so that I can adjust the dyeing process if necessary to achieve the most beautiful colour. Each fibre absorbs the dye slightly differently. The colour depends on factors such as the harvest of the plants, the dyeing process, the spinning method and the fibre structure. For example, the thinnest threads, made from the longest fibres, produced a recognisable, beautiful sheen."
This applies not only to dyeing, but starts with the cultivation of the botanical dyes. "Harvesting the madder felt like an archaeological excavation: you try to carefully loosen the roots so that you can observe and examine the raw material, in order to assess the colour quality and better understand the conditions in Amsterdam.
Weaving
Before weaving, the weaver carefully adjusts technical aspects such as the tension of the warp, the density of the weft and the type of weave. These determine the texture and strength of the fabric. The weaver's rhythm also determines the quality of the fabric. The jacket is woven in two different structures: denser at the front, so that the designer can stitch on it, and in a more open pattern at the back. The wavy twill and linen weave in the weaving pattern are partly determined by the properties of the yarn and the weaver's choice.
Weaver Eva Klee: 'When it turned out that the spinners had spun the warp yarns in different thicknesses, we decided to use them together. That's unusual, but it resulted in a very lively fabric: the threads are sometimes closer together and sometimes further apart. That effect was enhanced by Cecilia dyeing the qualities differently according to a colour system.'
‘When you don't have a lot of material, every detail counts. You have to make accurate calculations in advance and the weaving itself has to go well. That requires a very specific focus. Craftsmanship, as the counterpart to mass production, is a form of concentration. That adds value to the work.’
Design
A limited amount of fabric forces the fashion designer to come up with creative solutions. The jacket with sculptural pleats was developed based on the properties of the hand-woven material. The result is not just a piece of clothing, but a manifesto that resists the status quo of the industry.
Designer Charlotte Bakkenes: 'Together with Eva, I had to make choices about the weave structures of the different parts of the jacket in a way that works both aesthetically and practically. Open-weave fabrics are delicate; they fray quickly. Certain parts are therefore woven more densely so that I could stitch the front and back panels.'
‘The power of craftsmanship lies in its depth. Every part of the process, from spinning to weaving to sewing, requires time, reflection and thorough consultation between the makers. Instead of producing quickly, we made every detail meaningful. As a result, the jacket doesn't just feel like a product to me, but like a story that can be worn. It is an ode to local craftsmanship, and that gives it meaning.’
Photography
100% Amsterdam Textiles was photographed in documentary style from start to finish. The images reveal details that are difficult to put into words: the tactility of the material, the concentration on the faces, the patience in the craftsmanship. Through the eyes of the photographer, who observes a world that is new to him from a distance, the photos add value to the story.
Wardie Hellendoorn, photographer: ‘I saw the flax transform from a dried plant into a soft fabric. Gradually, I learned that there were quite a few limitations for the makers and how closely their actions were interrelated. And also: that seemingly simple processes such as weaving and dyeing become interesting when done slowly and with attention.’
*The Linen Project (2018) is an initiative of ArtEZ University of the Arts and Crafts Council Nederland to revive linen production in the Netherlands.
