The Swedish Handicraft Association () is a non-profit organization with regional offices and sales outlets throughout Sweden. Founded in 1899 by the textile artist Lilli Zickerman to market high-quality handicrafts at a store in central

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, the association continues to encourage its members to collaborate in producing works of high artistic quality. Over the years, the association has developed retail shops, participated in exhibitions and promoted interest in Swedish handicrafts.

1 square metre of flax

In 2020, the regional organization for

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1 ...

launched a

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

revival project named "1 kvm lin" (1 square metre of flax), attracting 700 participants in that region. Based on the success, the same was tried in all regions of Sweden in 2021, which attracted 6000 participants, and in 2022 spread to the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Those who sign up for this program, receive a bag with 15 grams of flax seeds in the spring, just enough to sow one square metre. During the year, a series of newsletters with instructions for the cultivation, harvest and processing are sent to participants. Participants are also invited to a Facebook group for their region or country, and are encouraged to share their stories and photos on social media using hashtags like #1kvmlin (or #flaxScotland). In the autumn, regional flax processing parties are organized, for participants who lack the necessary equipment. Flax and linen have a long history in the Nordic countries, but fell short to imported

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

during the 19th century. Attempts to revive and modernize the flax industry were made during both world wars, but wasn't sustainable in peacetime and the necessary government subsidies in Sweden ended in 1966.Kåre Fröier, Henryk Zienkiewicz, ''Linboken'' (1972), ISBN 91-36-00546-0.

References

{{Reflist Handicrafts Clubs and societies in Sweden Organizations established in 1899 1899 establishments in Sweden Organizations based in Stockholm