Homegrown/Homespun is a ground-breaking regenerative fashion pilot project in collaboration with designer Patrick Grant, his social enterprise Community Clothing and North West England Fibreshed, with aims to re-introduce flax and woad growing to Blackburn, East Lancashire and create a linen clothing line. It is an innovative, natural textile and clothing project with far reaching benefits for the environment and nature, health and cohesion of the community, and the stimulation of a local green economy along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal corridor in East Lancashire.

Over Spring and Summer 2021 we turned unused land in the town into a field of flax and woad. The flax was then harvested, spun into thread and woven live during last year’s British Textile Biennial to create the first Homegrown/Homespun fabric.

In 2022 we have continued the Homegrown/Homespun project on a larger scale, with three fields now planted across Blackburn. The original Audley site from 2021 has been expanded and now houses a woad site next to the flax field, and we have developed two new flax fields at Queens Park bowling green and St Mary’s & St Josephs R C primary school.

Future plans for Homegrown/Homespun are underway and will feed in to the exciting British Textile Biennial 2023 programme. The long term plan is to bring communities together to create growing spaces across the area, ranging from small areas on unused land on or near housing estates, to medium sized commercial agriculture plots.

If you’d like to meet new people, spend time outside and learn new skills, come and join us!

Over the growing season there are recurring open sessions to tend the crop from 10am—12 noon every Friday. These usually involve weeding, clearing, crop harvesting and flax processing activities. We also have workshops and events, some of which will continue through the winter. details of these can be found in the ‘related events’ below and our What’s On page.

We’d love you to come and get involved, even if it’s only for an hour! Come and see what we’re up to, have a brew and say hello.

Jan’s Conference Centre, Higher Audley Street, BB1 1DH Parking on site.

Sign up to our mailing list here, or contact uzma@superslowway.org.uk for more information.

Below are some interesting and useful resources, blogs and press releases related to the Homegrown/Homespun project.

North West England Fibreshed – website and blogs.

From Field to Fashion – A letter from Patrick Grant.

Countryfile – Field to Fashion episode.

Homegrown/Homespun Volunteer Vox Pops.

Homegrown/Homespun is supported by The JJ Charitable Trust and The National Lottery Climate Action Fund.