The secret of cold mangling a hemp linen

Intricately carved mangle board from Värmland County, Sweden, dated 1726, showcasing traditional craftsmanship. Klick on the picture for more info!

Cold mangling is a fading tradition. While sleeping on mangled sheets is pleasant, but the deeper reason for its decline is that bast fiber fabrics such as hemp and flax are no longer commonly made at home, and are used less often overall. Historically, however, mangling was essential, an important step in finishing hemp and flax cloth.

First, mangling secures the ends of bast fibers. Without it, the fibers remain exposed, leaving the fabric rough and fuzzy. Mangling also helps the cloth resist dirt, which was especially important for household textiles in the past. In addition, it reveals the quality of the fibers and yarns; the finer, longer, and more flexible they are, the glossier the surface becomes.

Because hemp was one of the oldest and most widespread textile plants, from East Asia to northern Europe it was processed into fabrics in many kinds of households, mangling methods and tools developed differently across cultures. In Europe, the fabric was rolled around a wooden roller, a board was placed on top and pressed down hard against it while being pulled back and forth by hand. For this reason, mangle boards had handles and were often richly carved. They sometimes served as engagement gifts, and were passed down through families, making them valued household items and showing how important mangling was. On top of that, they were often dated, as shown by this unusual 300-year-old board from Värmland county in Sweden.

However, the East Asian method of mangling differed noticeably. The fabric was placed across a larger wooden log, with a heavy, flat stone or board placed on top. The woman stood on it and rocked it back and forth using leg power. Although this method required more space, it made the work less strenuous. Still, cold mangling hemp cloth was hard labor regardless of the method, yet it was widely practiced.

A Hmong-woman skillfully mangles hemp fabric using a heavy stone in a traditional Vietnamese practice, still used today.