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Several years ago, farmer Helen Keys and her husband Charlie Mallon embarked on what they thought would be a straightforward venture – growing flax to make linen. Charlie, a blacksmith and sculptor, makes bronze statutes inspired by Celtic myths and legends. The couple wanted to market the bronzes in attractive linen bags but couldn't find anyone making Irish linen on a commercial scale. So they thought they should have a go themselves. After all flax, with its distinctive bright blue blossoms, had been grown on their 50 acre farm in County Tyrone for generations. It was once a staple crop across Northern Ireland.

Processing the flax includes retting – where it is soaked in water to loosen the fibre from the stalk. Helen and Charlie soak their harvest in an upcycled cheese vat and pour the water back onto the fields as fertiliser. The next step is scutching, where the fibre is separated from the stalk and prepared for spinning. Helen and Charlie show presenter Karen Patterson their pride and joy - a1960s scutching mill. The next stage - spinning - has proved to be the biggest challenge. Although there are a few hand spinners, there are currently no commercial spinning operations in the UK.

Helen began investigating the potential for flax's use as a composite material in industrial manufacture. She's teamed up with the Northern Ireland Advanced Composite and Engineering Centre which is researching a range of products to help decarbonise industry. Manager Peter Quigley tells Karen the flax plant has the potential to replace glass fibre in making components for the aviation and car industries. Helen and Charlie hope their flax growing project will encourage other farmers in Northern Ireland to consider reviving this heritage plant.

Produced by Kathleen Carragher