Midwest Linen Revival - Field to Frock

Field to Frock is a festival for everybody who wears clothes!

The events bring people together to learn from each other and to celebrate the future of farming, fashion, and flax. Midwest Linen Revival is delighted to present the second annual Field to Frock festival at the end of June 2026.

Find information on events, sign up for the newsletter, and email if you would like to volunteer. This page will be updated as details are finalized.

Come makers, artists, textile enthusiasts, agriculturalists, small farmers, local foodies, slow-fashionistas! Together we are weaving relationships with materials, makers, growers, and thinkers to encourage a richer, modern human connection with textiles.

Attend one event or all of them! We promise you'll leave with a greater appreciation for the connections between soil health and human health, traditional skills with future resilience, and individual crafting with community wellbeing. And learn some things about our connection past, present, and future with the beautiful flax plant.

A Tuesday, June 23: Olbrich After Hours

Time: 5:00 - 9:00 pm; Concert starts at 7:00 pm

Midwest Linen Revival is the Sustainability Partner for live concert on the lawn. Bring your own blanket or chairs. Food carts and drink for purchase. Come to talk with Leslie Schroeder at the Midwest Linen Revival table to learn more about growing flax and visit flax plants growing in the gardens at Olbrich.

Location: Olbrich Botanical Gardens

3330 Atwood Ave., Madison, WI 53704
Free to attend, $5 donation suggested. Registration required (link forthcoming)

B Wednesday, June 24: Field Day at Odyssey Farm

Start Time: TBD

Join SARE grant-recipient growing organic flax with experimental use of harvesting equipment.

Location: Odyssey Farm, 5586 County Road N, Sun Prairie, WI 53590

Parking Info
Registration required: TBD

C Thursday, June 25: Garden-Scale Growers How-To

Start Time: 1:00 pm

Join Midwest Linen Revival co-founder Leslie Schroeder to tour the OM gardens and learn about the possibilities of planting flax in small spaces.

Location: Rooted Troy Community Gardens, 502 Troy Drive. Madison, WI 53704

D Thursday, June 25: Historic Linen Textiles Tours at UW- School of Human Ecology

Time: 3:00 pm, tour will last approx. 60 minutes

Max capacity: 20 people per tour

Location: UW-Madison Center for Design & Material Culture

1300 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706

Parking Info here: https://cdmc.wisc.edu/about/location/

Registration required: Coming Soon.

Did you know that one of the world’s largest textile collections is on the UW-Madison campus?

The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection, housed in the Center for Design and Material Culture at the School of Human Ecology at UW Madison, includes over 14,000 textile artifacts spanning 16 centuries and 108 countries. Started by a fiber enthusiast and beloved Wisconsin professor Helen Louise Allen, the remarkable research collection will be open for special Field to Frock tours on Friday, June 20th. This is a unique opportunity to peek inside the storage space and learn the inside story about a few linen pieces that will represent a range of cultures, time periods, and functions with cultural historian and textile specialist Sophie Pitman. Pre-registration recommended as space is limited.

A pioneer in her field, Professor Allen approached textile objects as cultural records through which human nature and history could be better understood. For this linen-focused, hands-on opportunity, Dr. Pitman will share stories from some of highlighted objects from the collection and invite relevant, timely conversation about what we can learn about how linen has been made, worn, valued, and cared for around the world, throughout history.

E Thursday, June 25: Films and Conversation about Fiber, Farming, and Fast Fashion

Start Time: Doors at 5:30 pm; Films at 6:00 pm followed by moderated conversation and time to mingle.

Join us for a curated screening of six short films about flax, textiles, and Wisconsin agriculture. These films represent the challenges and possibilities of the industry today.

Location: 3rd floor of Madison Central Library, 201 Mifflin Street, Madison, WI 53703

F Friday, June 26: Historic Linen Textiles Tours at UW- School of Human Ecology

Time: 3:00 pm, tour will last approx. 60 minutes

Max capacity: 20 people per tour

Location: UW-Madison Center for Design & Material Culture

1300 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706

Parking Info here: https://cdmc.wisc.edu/about/location/

Registration required: Coming Soon.

Did you know that one of the world’s largest textile collections is on the UW-Madison campus?

The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection, housed in the Center for Design and Material Culture at the School of Human Ecology at UW Madison, includes over 14,000 textile artifacts spanning 16 centuries and 108 countries. Started by a fiber enthusiast and beloved Wisconsin professor Helen Louise Allen, the remarkable research collection will be open for special Field to Frock tours on Friday, June 20th. This is a unique opportunity to peek inside the storage space and learn the inside story about a few linen pieces that will represent a range of cultures, time periods, and functions with cultural historian and textile specialist Sophie Pitman. Pre-registration recommended as space is limited.

A pioneer in her field, Professor Allen approached textile objects as cultural records through which human nature and history could be better understood. For this linen-focused, hands-on opportunity, Dr. Pitman will share stories from some of highlighted objects from the collection and invite relevant, timely conversation about what we can learn about how linen has been made, worn, valued, and cared for around the world, throughout history.

G Friday, June 26: Hands-on Flax Papermaking and Sculpting in the Garden

Time: 12:00-4:00 pm

Did you know that American paper currency is 30% flax fiber? The shorter, rougher fiber that comes after cleaning longline flax fiber is called tow. It has been used to make paper across generations and cultures. Join artist Patricia Tinajero for a tactile experience in the garden. Enjoy this special opportunity to make a unique paper product with Wisconsin-grown flax.

Location: UW-Madison Allen Centennial Gardens

620 Babcock Drive, Madison, WI 53706
Parking Info: There are two-hour timed parking stalls (mobile pay “meters” that do not accept coins) on Babcock Drive, as well as a parking ramp (Lot 36) on Observatory Drive.

H Friday, June 26: Exhibit Opening Reception

Times: TBD

Location: Textile Arts Center of Madison, 1702 South Park, Madison, WI 53713

I Saturday, June 27: Papermaking Class at Textile Arts Center of Madison

Time: TBD

Presenter: Patricia Tinajero

Location: Textile Arts Center of Madison, 1702 South Park, Madison, WI 53713

J Saturday, June 27: Demonstration of Hand Processing at Low Tech Institute

Time: TBD

Presenter: Scott Johnson of Low Tech Institute

Location: Low Tech Institute, 11927 W. State Road 59, Evansville, WI 53536

K Saturday, June 27: Hands-On Mending for Everyone

Time: TBD

Presenter: Kathryn Prince Fibershed Heartland Board Member

Location: Aubergine

1226 Williamson St, Madison, WI 53703
Parking Info: Street parking available

Make a statement with your style, no sewing experience necessary! This hands-on, free event is

kid-friendly and open to everyone. We will offer the instruction, tools, and materials for remaking

older clothes into something fresh and fun. Bring your own clothing or try out some techniques

on our provided fabric. Instructors and fiber artists Kathryn Prince and Carolyn Lipke will share what they love about hand sewing and teach participants the skills to be part of the solution while dressing to impress

L Saturday, June 27: Spinning Flax to Fiber

Time: TBD

Presenters: TBD

Location: Aubergine

1226 Williamson St, Madison, WI 53703
Parking Info: Street parking available

Come see how to spin gold! Visitors can give spinning a whirl, too!

M Sunday, June 28: Field Day at West Agricultural Research Station

Start Time: 10:00 am

See oil seed and fiber flax growing side-by-side in the field. This is a chance to talk with Midwest Linen Revival's Leslie Schroeder, who will share the agronomic essentials for growing flax at a field scale.

Location: West Madison Agricultural Research Station, 8502 Mineral Point Road, Verona, WI 53593

N Sunday, June 28: Happy Hour Fibershed Panel Conversation and Linen Fashion Show

Time: TBD

Panelists: TBD

Location: High Noon Saloon, 701 E Washington Ave, Madison, WI 53703

Parking Lot on site

Facebook Event Link

This panel brings together voices from different sectors and exemplifies Field to Frock's unique and critical focus on connecting farmers, innovators, makers, and regional experts in agriculture and textiles. Panelists will be part of a moderated discussion on the development of our regional textile system. The audience will be encouraged to ask questions and engage to learn more about where opportunities exist for community participation in shaping and building a modern, regional textile ecosystem for the collective joy and well being of everyone involved. The panel will be moderated by Lauren McElroy of Mother of Purl, a regional textile enthusiast, knitter, pattern designer and facilitator committed to building community through the fiber arts.

The conversation will be followed by a lively and inspiring fashion show! Come to see brand new custom creations from the UW-SOHE design students, as well as linen fashions from local sewists and makers. This culminating Field to Frock party is not to be missed!

We are grateful to our Fiscal Sponsor and Funders!

Fibershed Heartland

Fiscal Sponsor

Grant Supporter

We are grateful for wonderful community partners and venues:

High Noon Saloon, JillianEve, Low Tech Institute, Madison's Weaver's Guild, Textile Arts Center, UW-Madison Allen Centennial Gardens, UW-Madison Center for Design & Material Culture

Field to Frock has been curated and produced by:

Jessica Becker

Leslie Schroeder

Jessica is a mother to two teenage daughters, a writer, a photographer, and a wanderer. She wakes up early to practice yoga, bikes almost everywhere, enjoys cooking with her family, and is endlessly inspired by the beautiful world. She is the director of communications for Wisconsin Humanities, has a background in museums and education, and puts her energy into community projects that help us imagine a future in which we value our histories and evolve with resiliency and creativity. She is a textile enthusiast with a worldview. Read her article, “Smitten with Linen: Wisconsin’s Flax Fiber Revival,” in Wisconsin People and Ideas magazine and find ideas to liberate your spirit and light up your brain on Wanderlife.

Leslie's background is a blend of practical skills, community engagement, and a deep connection to nature.

She enjoyed fourteen years as a stay-at-home homeschooling parent of two which provided her the flexibility of time to deepen into the contemporary fiber crafts of sewing, knitting, and learning to weave on a floor loom, while also exploring traditional textile skills of twining wild cordage and hand tanning buckskins. Finding continuity from all that is ancient and modern in fiber flax, Leslie became smitten with linen.

Drawing it all together is an inspiration that there is something sacred in mending our relationship with our clothes.

Founder of Midwest Linen Revival, Leslie has been enthusiastically working to bring all that she has in passion and organizing skill into reviving a fiber-flax industry in The Midwest.

She sleeps outside whenever she can.