“After I emailed you yesterday, I found a few references online to “flax-wife” with a hyphen and then, this morning, I found the variations “flaxe wife” and “flaxewife,” with the additional “e.”

There were a number of definitions connected to the hyphenated spelling, all close to what you suggested, i.e., that a flax-wife was a flax dresser (or one who both rets and dresses flax) and/or a spinner. I also discovered a related term “flax wench,” which also meant a spinner, but in Shakespeare apparently also had the second meaning of prostitute.

My other interesting discovery, which I’m sure you already know, is that there is a flax-dresser’s disease … which is a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease caused by inhalation of particles of unprocessed flax. ”

Thanks so much for this extra information and for the permission to post it.