Flax and hemp laid the foundations for a comparatively large scale domestic industry of spinning and weaving. At one time the Isle of Axholme had a flourishing sack and canvas making industry. To the average peasant family of the sixteenth century it was profitable by-employment where-as to the poor it was one of the principal ways of earning a living. This talk will outline the project that will try and find out more about this once important industry – both from looking at what remains and also through experimental archaeology.