Abstract
Flax, one of the world’s oldest agricultural products, used throughout our civilization and its importance (Linum usitatissimum L.) declined at certain times and increased in certain periods. Although the agricultural and related industrial and commercial value of linen changed from time to time, it was never completely abandoned. Indeed, the fact that both the seeds and the fibers of the plant have commercial value make the flax additionally attractive. Agricultural product in question in today's modern Turkey was evaluated in all kinds of forms in all civilizations ever from the period Phrygian to the Ottoman Empire. In the Republican Period, an unstable development process has been experienced in the field of flax and has disappeared almost completely in the agricultural sense in recent years. On the other hand, since 2018, remarkable attempts have been made regarding flax and hemp. Locally scaled developments have taken place in this area, such as the promotion of planting and the reproduction of traditional fabrics (such as Ayancık Linen Cloth and Kandıra Cloth). In this study, it is aimed to reveal the situation of flax, which has been brought to the agenda again, in the field of agriculture and to evaluate the traditional weaving and flax agriculture in a holistic way. In addition, drawing attention to the issue on a national and international scale by using the characteristic fabrics in fashion design is also a remarkable development. In this study, flax cultivation in Turkey, the characteristics of woven linen and the socioeconomic status of activity have been discussed. In this context, field studies were conducted in Kocaeli and Sinop and the process of the activity from the field to the design was monitored on site.