Grassing (textiles)

The linens were laid out on the grass for over seven days after boiling with the ''lyes of ashes and rinsing''.^[2] The atmospheric oxygen and the oxygen left by the grass provide the whitening action. The cloth becomes whiter day by day until it attains the full whiteness. It was a slow process, but safer for the subjected material. Chemical bleaching may harm the cloth, but in the grassing it hardly affects the cloth's strength.^[1][3][4]

The Bleachfield was an open area to spread cloth. It was a field near the watercourse used by a bleachery. Bleachfields were common in and around the mill towns during the British Industrial Revolution^[5]

With the discovery of Chlorine in the late 18th century, chemical bleaching took over from grassing, as it was quicker and could be done indoors.^[1][5][2]

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  Linen Bleaching/ Grassing
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  Bleaching Ground
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  Market and washing place in Flanders

• Timeline of clothing and textiles technology
• Scouring (textiles)