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118-533: A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres . It was fundamental to the cotton textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution . It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the spinning jenny and spinning frame , which displaced the spinning wheel during the Industrial Revolution. The basic spinning of yarn involves taking a clump of fibres and teasing

236-484: A centre-pull ball , where one end feeds from within a ball of yarn while the other end feeds from the outside. "Andean plying", in which the single is first wound around one hand in a specific manner that allows unwinding both ends at once without tangling, is another way to ply smaller amounts of yarn. The name comes from a method used by Andean spinners to manage and splice unevenly matched singles being plied from multiple spindles. "Navajo plying", a.k.a. "chain-plying"

354-458: A lied for piano and voice based on a poem from Goethe's Faust . the piano part depicts Gretchen's restlessness as she spins on a spinning wheel while waiting by a window for her love to return. Antonín Dvořák composed The Golden Spinning Wheel , a symphonic poem based on the folk ballad from Kytice by Karel Jaromír Erben . Camille Saint-Saëns wrote Le Rouet d'Omphale (Omphale's Spinning Wheel) , symphonic poem in A major, Op. 31,

472-407: A Spinning Certificate and a Master Spinning Certificate. These programs feature in-depth examinations of handspinning topics, as well as extensive assignments and skill evaluations. A tightly spun wool yarn made from fibre with a long staple length in it is called worsted . It is hand spun from combed top , and the fibres all lie in the same direction as the yarn. A woollen yarn, in contrast,

590-448: A bath in warm water or as complicated as an industrial process using detergent and alkali in specialized equipment. In north west England , special potash pits were constructed to produce potash used in the manufacture of a soft soap for scouring locally produced white wool. Vegetable matter in commercial wool is often removed by chemical carbonization . In less-processed wools, vegetable matter may be removed by hand and some of

708-418: A bit of them out, then twisting it into a basic string shape. The spinner continues pulling and twisting the yarn in this manner to make it longer and longer while also controlling the thickness. Thousands of years ago, people began doing this onto a stick, called a spindle , which was a very lengthy process. The actual wheel part of a spinning wheel does not take the place of the spindle; instead, it automates

826-406: A combination of both techniques and thus make a semi-worsted yarn. Short draw spinning is used to create worsted yarns. It is spun from combed roving , sliver or wool top . The spinner keeps his/her hands very close to each other. The fibres are held, fanned out, in one hand, and the other hand pulls a small number from the mass. The twist is kept between the second hand and the wheel. There

944-431: A drive band; instead the flyer is directly friction-driven via a rubber ring in contact at a right angle to the flat surface of a solid drive wheel. One example from New Zealand dates to 1918, and a very few other models using this drive method have been manufactured since 1970. These wheels are extremely compact and less fouled by outdoor dirt than drive-band wheels, but they are quite uncommon. The spinning wheel increased

1062-500: A fiber that holds longevity and durability over synthetic materials, while retaining its shape. In December 2004, a bale of the then world's finest wool, averaging 11.8 microns, sold for AU$ 3,000 per kilogram at auction in Melbourne . This fleece wool tested with an average yield of 74.5%, 68 mm (2.7 in) long, and had 40 newtons per kilotex strength. The result was A$ 279,000 for the bale. The finest bale of wool ever auctioned

1180-417: A flax wheel) or an upright wheel (also called a castle wheel) is invaluable when spinning flax to make linen. The ends of flax fibres tend to stick out from the thread unless wetted while being spun, so the spinner usually keeps a bowl of water handy when spinning flax. On these types of wheels both hands are free as the wheel is turned with a treadle rather than by hand, so the spinner can use one hand to draft

1298-416: A hand to turn the wheel. The great wheel is usually used to spin short-staple fibres (this includes both cotton and wool), and can only be used with fibre preparations that are suited to long-draw spinning. The great wheel is usually over 1.5 metres (5 feet) in height. The large drive wheel turns the much smaller spindle assembly, with the spindle revolving many times for each turn of the drive wheel. The yarn

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1416-422: A hook of bone was added to the upper end. The bunch of wool or plant fibres is held in the left hand. With the right hand the fibres are drawn out several inches and the end fastened securely in the slit or hook on the top of the spindle. A whirling motion is given to the spindle on the thigh or any convenient part of the body. The twisted yarn is then wound on to the upper part of the spindle. Another bunch of fibres

1534-524: A low-voltage source, such as a rechargeable battery. Most e-spinners are smaller, more portable, and quieter than treadle wheels. One of the attractions of an e-spinner is that it is not necessary to coordinate treadling with handling the fibre (drafting), so it can be easier to learn to spin on an e-spinner than a traditional treadle-style spinning wheel. E-spinners are also suitable for spinners who have trouble treadling or keeping their treadling speed consistent. This type of treadle-driven wheel does not use

1652-446: A musical treatment of the classical story of Omphale and Heracles . A favorite piano work for students is Albert Ellmenreich's Spinnleidchen (Spinning Song) , from his 1863 Musikalische Genrebilder , Op. 14. An ostinato of repeating melodic fifths represents the spinning wheel. The Spinning Wheel is also the title/subject of a classic Irish folk song by John Francis Waller . A traditional Irish folk song, Túirne Mháire ,

1770-461: A person simply push at a pedal and keep the wheel turning at an even more constant rate. This mechanism was the main source of technological progress for the spinning wheel before the 18th century. The history of the spinning wheel is disputed, with: The spinning wheel spread from the Middle-East to Europe by the 13th century, with the earliest European illustration dated to around 1280. In France,

1888-528: A sense of accomplishment, or a sense of connection to history and the land. In addition, they may take up spinning for its meditative qualities. Within the recent past, many new spinners have joined into this ancient process, innovating the craft and creating new techniques. From using new dyeing methods before spinning, to mixing in novelty elements (Christmas Garland, eccentric beads, money, etc.) that would not normally be found in traditional yarns, to creating and employing new techniques like coiling, this craft

2006-410: A sheep is known as "raw wool", "greasy wool" or "wool in the grease". This wool contains a high level of valuable lanolin , as well as the sheep's dead skin and sweat residue, and generally also contains pesticides and vegetable matter from the animal's environment. Before the wool can be used for commercial purposes, it must be scoured, a process of cleaning the greasy wool. Scouring may be as simple as

2124-501: A single drive wheel set up in Irish tension, or 'bobbin lead', the drive band drives the bobbin and the tension band brakes the flyer. Some wheels can be set up in either single drive configuration, others only one. Additionally some wheels can be set up either in double drive or single drive. When the spindle or flyer is located above the wheel, rather than off to one side, the wheel is called an upright wheel or castle wheel. This type of wheel

2242-416: A single worker able to work eight or more spools at once. At roughly the same time, Richard Arkwright and a team of craftsmen developed the spinning frame , which produced a stronger thread than the spinning jenny. Too large to be operated by hand, a spinning frame powered by a waterwheel became the water frame . In 1779, Samuel Crompton combined elements of the spinning jenny and water frame to create

2360-773: A small percentage of lipids . This makes it chemically quite distinct from cotton and other plant fibers, which are mainly cellulose. Wool is produced by follicles which are small cells located in the skin. These follicles are located in the upper layer of the skin called the epidermis and push down into the second skin layer called the dermis as the wool fibers grow. Follicles can be classed as either primary or secondary follicles. Primary follicles produce three types of fiber: kemp , medullated fibers, and true wool fibers. Secondary follicles only produce true wool fibers. Medullated fibers share nearly identical characteristics to hair and are long but lack crimp and elasticity. Kemp fibers are very coarse and shed out. Wool's crimp refers to

2478-518: A small, portable, hand-cranked wheel, is ideal for spinning cotton and other fine, short-staple fibres, though it can be used to spin other fibres as well. The size varies, from that of a hardbound novel to the size of a briefcase, to a floor charkha. Leaders of the India's Freedom Struggle brought the charkha into wider use with their teachings. They hoped the charkha would assist the people of India achieve self-sufficiency and independence, and therefore used

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2596-421: A spinning wheel. Perhaps surprisingly, a traditional spindle does not have a sharp end that could prick a person's finger (unlike the walking wheel, often used for wool spinning). Despite this, the narrative idea persists that Sleeping Beauty or Briar Rose or Dornrosen pricks her finger on the spindle—a device which she has never seen before, as they have been banned from the kingdom in a forlorn attempt to prevent

2714-435: A symbolic identification with the poor of India. His personal choice became a powerful political gesture as he urged his more privileged followers to copy his example and discard—or even burn—their European-style clothing and return with pride to their ancient, pre-colonial culture. Gandhi claimed that spinning thread in the traditional manner also had material advantages, as it would create the basis for economic independence and

2832-462: A wet diaper by inhibiting wicking, so outer garments remain dry. Wool felted and treated with lanolin is water resistant, air permeable, and slightly antibacterial, so it resists the buildup of odor. Some modern cloth diapers use felted wool fabric for covers, and there are several modern commercial knitting patterns for wool diaper covers. Initial studies of woollen underwear have found it prevented heat and sweat rashes because it more readily absorbs

2950-492: A wool product and subsequently reduced to a fibrous state without having been used by the ultimate consumer". "Reused wool" refers to such wool that has been used by the ultimate consumer. Wild sheep were more hairy than woolly. Although sheep were domesticated some 9,000 to 11,000 years ago, archaeological evidence from statuary found at sites in Iran suggests selection for woolly sheep may have begun around 6000 BC, with

3068-550: Is "the fiber from the fleece of the sheep or lamb or hair of the Angora or Cashmere goat (and may include the so-called specialty fibers from the hair of the camel, alpaca, llama, and vicuna) which has never been reclaimed from any woven or felted wool product". " Virgin wool " and " new wool " are also used to refer to such never used wool. There are two categories of recycled wool (also called reclaimed or shoddy wool). "Reprocessed wool" identifies "wool which has been woven or felted into

3186-465: Is a cultural preference differing in some areas but surprisingly common. It is important, however, to spin the single plies in one direction and then spin them together in the opposite direction—in this way, the opposite-direction plying keeps the spun yarn from untwisting itself. Yarns can be made of two, three, four, or more plies, or may be used as singles without plying. Two-ply yarn can also be plied from both ends of one long strand of singles using

3304-557: Is a strong, long- staple , combed wool yarn with a hard surface. Woolen is a soft, short-staple, carded wool yarn typically used for knitting. In traditional weaving, woolen weft yarn (for softness and warmth) is frequently combined with a worsted warp yarn for strength on the loom. In addition to clothing, wool has been used for blankets , suits , horse rugs , saddle cloths, carpeting , insulation and upholstery. Dyed wool can be used to create other forms of art such as wet and needle felting. Wool felt covers piano hammers, and it

3422-404: Is another method of producing a three-ply yarn, in which one strand of singles is looped around itself in a manner similar to crochet and the resulting three parallel strands twisted together. This method is often used to keep colours together on singles dyed in sequential colours. Cabled yarns are usually four-ply yarns made by plying two strands of two-ply yarn together in the direction opposite to

3540-412: Is constantly evolving and shifting. To make various yarns, besides adding novelty elements, spinners can vary all the same things as in a machined yarn, i.e., the fibre, the preparation, the colour, the spinning technique, the direction of the twist, etc. A common misconception is that yarn spun from rolags may not be as strong, but the strength of a yarn is actually based on the length of hair fibre and

3658-464: Is determined by a technique known as wool classing , whereby a qualified person, called a wool classer, groups wools of similar grading together to maximize the return for the farmer or sheep owner. In Australia, before being auctioned, all Merino fleece wool is objectively measured for average diameter ( micron ), yield (including the amount of vegetable matter ), staple length, staple strength, and sometimes color and comfort factor. Wool straight off

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3776-518: Is done lock by lock in warm water with dish-soap. There are number of guilds and educational institutions which offer certificate programs in handspinning. The Handweavers Guild of America (HGA) offers a Certificate of Excellence in Handspinning. Olds College in Alberta, Canada offers a Master Spinner program both on campus and by distance education. The Ontario Handweavers & Spinners offer both

3894-414: Is drawn out, the spindle is given another twirl, the yarn is wound on the spindle, and so on. The distaff was used for holding the bunch of wool, flax , or other fibres. It was a short stick, on one end of which was loosely wound the raw material. The other end of the distaff was held in the hand, under the arm or thrust in the girdle of the spinner. When held thus, one hand was left free for drawing out

4012-594: Is generally a creamy white color, although some breeds of sheep produce natural colors, such as black, brown, silver, and random mixes. Wool ignites at a higher temperature than cotton and some synthetic fibers . It has a lower rate of flame spread , a lower rate of heat release, a lower heat of combustion , and does not melt or drip; it forms a char that is insulating and self-extinguishing, and it contributes less to toxic gases and smoke than other flooring products when used in carpets. Wool carpets are specified for high safety environments, such as trains and aircraft. Wool

4130-581: Is generally sung in praise of the spinning wheel, but was regarded by Mrs Costelloe , who collected it, as "much corrupted", and may have had a darker narrative. It is widely taught in junior schools in Ireland. Sun Charkhe Di Mithi Mithi Kook is a Sufi song in the Punjabi language inspired by the traditional spinning wheel. It is an ode by a lover as she remembers her beloved with the sound of every spin of her Charkha. Spinning wheels also feature prominently in

4248-401: Is hand spun from a rolag or other carded fibre (roving, batts), where the fibres are not as strictly aligned to the yarn created. The woollen yarn, thus, captures much more air, and makes for a softer and generally bulkier yarn. There are two main techniques to create these different yarns: short draw creates worsted yarns, and long draw creates woollen yarns. Often a spinner will spin using

4366-466: Is limited in supply and much of it comes from New Zealand and Australia. Organic wool has become easier to find in clothing and other products, but these products often carry a higher price. Wool is environmentally preferable (as compared to petroleum-based nylon or polypropylene ) as a material for carpets , as well, in particular when combined with a natural binding and the use of formaldehyde -free glues. Animal rights groups have noted issues with

4484-399: Is never any twist between the two hands. Long draw is spun from a carded rolag . The rolag is spun without much stretching of the fibres from the cylindrical configuration. This is done by allowing twist into a short section of the rolag, and then pulling back, without letting the rolag change position in one's hands, until the yarn is the desired thickness. The twist will concentrate in

4602-406: Is not a common feature of the treadle wheel. Instead, most modern wheels employ a flyer-and-bobbin system which twists the yarn and winds it onto a spool simultaneously. These wheels can be single- or double-treadle; which is a matter of personal preference and ergonomics and does not materially affect the operation of the wheel. The double drive wheel is named after its drive band, which goes around

4720-422: Is often more compact, thus easier to store and transport. Some upright wheels are even made to fold up small enough that they fit in carry-on luggage at the airport. An Irish castle wheel is a type of upright in which the flyer is located below the drive wheel. An electric spinning wheels, or e-spinner, is powered by an electric motor rather than via a treadle. Some require mains power while others may be powered by

4838-415: Is pooled in a local market area, but sold through a wool warehouse. Wool offered with objective measurement test results is preferred. Imported apparel wool and carpet wool goes directly to central markets, where it is handled by the large merchants and manufacturers. Shoddy or recycled wool is made by cutting or tearing apart existing wool fabric and respinning the resulting fibers. As this process makes

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4956-504: Is processed into 'top'. 'Worsted top' requires strong straight and parallel fibres. The quality of wool is determined by its fiber diameter, crimp , yield, color, and staple strength. Fiber diameter is the single most important wool characteristic determining quality and price. Merino wool is typically 90–115 mm (3.5–4.5 in) in length and is very fine (between 12 and 24 microns). The finest and most valuable wool comes from Merino hoggets . Wool taken from sheep produced for meat

5074-482: Is said to have added a treadle , by which the spinner could rotate her spindle with one foot and have both hands free to spin. Leonardo da Vinci drew a picture of the flyer, which twists the yarn before winding it onto the spindle. During the 16th century a treadle wheel with flyer was in common use, and gained such names as the Saxony wheel and the flax wheel. It sped up production, as one need not stop spinning to wind up

5192-457: Is spun at an angle off the tip of the spindle, and is then stored on the spindle. To begin spinning on a great wheel, first a leader (a length of waste yarn) is tied onto the base of the spindle and spiraled up to the tip. Then the spinner overlaps a handful of fibre with the leader, holding both gently together with the left hand, and begins to slowly turn the drive wheel clockwise with the right hand, while simultaneously walking backward and drawing

5310-541: Is spun off the tip of the spindle with the other. The floor charkha and the great wheel closely resemble each other. With both, the spinning must stop in order to wind the yarn onto the spindle. The word charkha , which has links with Persian چرخ ( Romanized : charkh ), wheel, is related to the Sanskrit word for "circle" ( cakra ). The charkha was both a tool and a symbol of the Indian independence movement . The charkha,

5428-472: Is the classic fairy tale Sleeping Beauty , in which the main character pricks her hand or finger on the poisoned spindle of a spinning wheel and falls into a deep sleep following a wicked fairy or witch 's curse. Numerous variations of the tale exist (the Brothers Grimm had one in their collection entitled Little Briar Rose), and in only some of them is the spindle actually attached to/associated with

5546-412: Is typically coarser, and has fibers 40–150 mm (1.5–6 in) in length. Damage or breaks in the wool can occur if the sheep is stressed while it is growing its fleece, resulting in a thin spot where the fleece is likely to break. Wool is also separated into grades based on the measurement of the wool's diameter in microns and also its style. These grades may vary depending on the breed or purpose of

5664-425: Is used to absorb odors and noise in heavy machinery and stereo speakers. Ancient Greeks lined their helmets with felt, and Roman legionnaires used breastplates made of wool felt. Wool as well as cotton has also been traditionally used for cloth diapers . Wool fiber exteriors are hydrophobic (repel water) and the interior of the wool fiber is hygroscopic (attracts water); this makes a wool garment suitable cover for

5782-402: Is usually specified for garments for firefighters, soldiers, and others in occupations where they are exposed to the likelihood of fire. Wool causes an allergic reaction in some people. Sheep shearing is the process in which a worker (a shearer ) cuts off the woollen fleece of a sheep. After shearing, wool-classers separate the wool into four main categories: The quality of fleeces

5900-600: Is usually used for making carpets. In the United States, Texas , New Mexico , and Colorado have large commercial sheep flocks and their mainstay is the Rambouillet (or French Merino). Also, a thriving home-flock contingent of small-scale farmers raise small hobby flocks of specialty sheep for the hand-spinning market. These small-scale farmers offer a wide selection of fleece. Global woolclip (total amount of wool shorn) 2020 Organic wool has gained in popularity. This wool

6018-542: The Arte della Lana , the wool guild: wool textile interests guided Florentine policies. Francesco Datini , the "merchant of Prato", established in 1383 an Arte della Lana for that small Tuscan city. The sheepwalks of Castile were controlled by the Mesta union of sheep owners. They shaped the landscape and the fortunes of the meseta that lies in the heart of the Iberian peninsula; in

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6136-461: The Champagne fairs revolved around the production of wool cloth in small centers such as Provins . The network developed by the annual fairs meant the woolens of Provins might find their way to Naples , Sicily, Cyprus , Majorca , Spain, and even Constantinople . The wool trade developed into serious business, a generator of capital. In the 13th century, the wool trade became the economic engine of

6254-676: The Low Countries and central Italy. By the end of the 14th century, Italy predominated. The Florentine wool guild , Arte della Lana , sent the imported English wool to the San Martino convent for processing. Italian wool from Abruzzo and Spanish merino wools were processed at Garbo workshops . Abruzzo wool had once been the most accessible for the Florentine guild, until improved relations with merchants in Iberia made merino wool more available. By

6372-452: The Neolithic era. They allowed the spinner to slowly lower, or drop, the spindle as it was spinning, thus allowing a greater quantity of yarn to be made before it had to be wound onto the spindle, hence the name "drop spindle," which is now most commonly used for the hand spindle with whorl attached. The Scottish drop spindle is called fairsaid , farsadh , or dealgan . The spinning wheel

6490-753: The Wagner opera The Flying Dutchman ; the second act begins with local girls sitting at their wheels and singing about the act of spinning. Gilbert and Sullivan's The Yeomen of the Guard begins with a solitary character singing while spinning at her wheel, the first of their operettas not to open with a chorus. Spinning wheels may be found as motifs in art around the world, ranging from their status as domestic/utilitarian items to their more symbolic role (such as in India, where they may have political implications). Hand spinning Characteristics of spun yarn vary according to

6608-400: The spindle and distaff were not displaced until the mid 18th century. The spinning wheel replaced the earlier method of hand spinning with a spindle. The first stage in mechanizing the process was mounting the spindle horizontally so it could be rotated by a cord encircling a large, hand-driven wheel. The great wheel is an example of this type, where the fibre is held in the left hand and

6726-436: The spinning jenny and spinning frame , which displaced the spinning wheel during the Industrial Revolution. The spinning wheel was a precursor to the spinning jenny , which was widely used during the Industrial Revolution. The spinning jenny was essentially an adaptation of the spinning wheel. The ubiquity of the spinning wheel has led to its inclusion in the art, literature and other expressions of numerous cultures around

6844-511: The spinning mule . This produced a stronger thread, and was suitable for mechanisation on a grand scale. A later development, from 1828/29, was Ring spinning . In the 20th century, new techniques including Open End spinning or rotor spinning were invented to produce yarns at rates in excess of 40 meters per second. Yarn can be, and is, spun from a wide variety of materials, including natural fibres such as animal , plant , and mineral fibres, and synthetic fibres . The direction in which

6962-511: The 16th century Italian wool exports to the Levant had declined, eventually replaced by silk production. The value of exports of English raw wool were rivaled only by the 15th-century sheepwalks of Castile and were a significant source of income to the English crown, which in 1275 had imposed an export tax on wool called the "Great Custom". The importance of wool to the English economy can be seen in

7080-491: The 16th century, a unified Spain allowed export of Merino lambs only with royal permission. The German wool market – based on sheep of Spanish origin – did not overtake British wool until comparatively late. Later, the Industrial Revolution introduced mass production technology into wool and wool cloth manufacturing. Australia's colonial economy was based on sheep raising, and the Australian wool trade eventually overtook that of

7198-614: The European population; cotton from India was a curiosity of which only naturalists had heard, and silks, imported along the Silk Road from China, were extravagant luxury goods . Pliny the Elder records in his Natural History that the reputation for producing the finest wool was enjoyed by Tarentum , where selective breeding had produced sheep with superior fleeces, but which required special care. In medieval times, as trade connections expanded,

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7316-537: The Germans by 1845, furnishing wool for Bradford , which developed as the heart of industrialized woolens production. Due to decreasing demand with increased use of synthetic fibers, wool production is much less than what it was in the past. The collapse in the price of wool began in late 1966 with a 40% drop; with occasional interruptions, the price has tended down. The result has been sharply reduced production and movement of resources into production of other commodities, in

7434-472: The animal's back. Wool has several qualities that distinguish it from hair or fur: it is crimped and elastic . The amount of crimp corresponds to the fineness of the wool fibers. A fine wool like Merino may have up to 40 crimps per centimetre (100 crimps per inch), while coarser wool like karakul may have less than one (one or two crimps per inch). In contrast, hair has little if any scale and no crimp, and little ability to bind into yarn . On sheep,

7552-455: The case of sheep growers, to production of meat. Superwash wool (or washable wool) technology first appeared in the early 1970s to produce wool that has been specially treated so it is machine washable and may be tumble-dried. This wool is produced using an acid bath that removes the "scales" from the fiber, or by coating the fiber with a polymer that prevents the scales from attaching to each other and causing shrinkage. This process results in

7670-471: The centers of the textile trade, the manufacturing process came to be subdivided into a collection of trades, overseen by an entrepreneur in a system called by the English the "putting-out" system, or "cottage industry", and the Verlagssystem by the Germans. In this system of producing wool cloth, once perpetuated in the production of Harris tweeds , the entrepreneur provides the raw materials and an advance,

7788-497: The charkha as a symbol of the Indian independence movement and included it on earlier versions of the Flag of India . The great wheel was one of the earlier types of spinning wheel. The fibre is held in the left hand and the wheel slowly turned with the right. Yarn is spun on a great wheel with the long-draw spinning technique, which requires only one active hand most of the time, thus freeing

7906-525: The curse of the wicked godmother-fairy. Walt Disney included the Saxony or flax wheel in their animated film version of Perrault's tale and Rose pricks her finger on the distaff (which holds the plant fibre waiting to be spun). Whereas only a spindle is used in Tchaikovsky 's ballet The Sleeping Beauty which is closer to the direct translation of the French "un fuseau". Spinning wheels are also integral to

8024-406: The degree of twist. When working with shorter hairs, such as from llama or angora rabbit , the spinner may choose to integrate longer fibres, such as mohair, to prevent yarn breakage. Yarns made of shorter fibres are also given more twist than yarns of longer fibres, and are generally spun with the short draw technique. The fibre can be dyed at any time, but is often dyed before carding or after

8142-411: The difference in speed winds the yarn onto the bobbin when the spinner lets up tension on the newly spun yarn, and spins the bobbin and flyer together to add spin to the yarn when the spinner keeps the new yarn under tension (in this case, the drive band will slip slightly in the groove in the bobbin, flyer whorl, or both). Generally the speed difference or "ratio" is adjusted by the size of the whorls and

8260-417: The earliest type of spinning, tufts of animal hair or plant fibre are rolled down the thigh with the hand, and additional tufts are added as needed until the desired length of spun fibre is achieved. An advanced technique of thigh-spinning while simultaneously plying two singles is still used today in several cultures, such as with Chilkat weaving and Ravenstail weaving . In earlier practice of thigh-spinning,

8378-562: The earliest woven wool garments having only been dated to two to three thousand years later. Woolly sheep were introduced into Europe from the Near East in the early part of the 4th millennium BC. The oldest known European wool textile, c.  1500 BC , was preserved in a Danish bog . Prior to invention of shears—probably in the Iron Age —the wool was plucked out by hand or by bronze combs. In Roman times, wool, linen , and leather clothed

8496-569: The fact that since the 14th century, the presiding officer of the House of Lords has sat on the " Woolsack ", a chair stuffed with wool. Economies of scale were instituted in the Cistercian houses, which had accumulated great tracts of land during the 12th and early 13th centuries, when land prices were low and labor still scarce. Raw wool was baled and shipped from North Sea ports to the textile cities of Flanders , notably Ypres and Ghent , where it

8614-405: The fibre in the left hand away from the spindle at an angle. The left hand must control the tension on the wool to produce an even result. Once a sufficient amount of yarn has been made, the spinner turns the wheel backward a short distance to unwind the spiral on the spindle, then turns it clockwise again, and winds the newly made yarn onto the spindle, finishing the wind-on by spiralling back out to

8732-413: The fibre might be fastened to a stone which is twirled round until the yarn is sufficiently twisted, whereupon it is wound upon the stone and the process repeated over and over. The next method of spinning yarn is with the spindle , a straight stick eight to twelve inches long on which the yarn is wound after twisting. At first the stick had a cleft or split in the top in which the thread was fixed. Later,

8850-411: The fibres and the other to wet them. These wheels can also be used to spin wool or cotton. Powered spinning, originally done by water or steam power but now done by electricity , is vastly faster than hand-spinning. The spinning jenny , a multi- spool spinning wheel invented c. 1764 by James Hargreaves , dramatically reduced the amount of work needed to produce yarn of high consistency, with

8968-425: The fibres. A spindle containing a quantity of yarn rotates more easily, steadily, and continues longer than an empty one; hence, the next improvement was the addition of a weight called a spindle whorl at the bottom of the spindle. These whorls are discs of wood , stone , clay , or metal with a hole in the centre for the spindle, which keep the spindle steady and promote its rotation. Spindle whorls appeared in

9086-457: The global textile market, but its value is higher owing to dyeing and other modifications of the material. Australia is a leading producer of wool which is mostly from Merino sheep but has been eclipsed by China in terms of total weight. New Zealand (2016) is the third-largest producer of wool, and the largest producer of crossbred wool. Breeds such as Lincoln , Romney , Drysdale , and Elliotdale produce coarser fibers, and wool from these sheep

9204-432: The grease, as it is less work to wash the wool after it is in yarn form. Spinners who spin very fine yarn may also prefer to spin in the grease as it can allow them to spin finer yarns with more ease. Spinning in the grease covers the spinner's hands in lanolin and, thus, softens the spinner's hands. Spinning in the grease works best if the fleece is newly sheared. After several months, the lanolin becomes sticky, which makes

9322-458: The hair part of the fleece is called kemp . The relative amounts of kemp to wool vary from breed to breed and make some fleeces more desirable for spinning , felting , or carding into batts for quilts or other insulating products, including the famous tweed cloth of Scotland . Wool fibers readily absorb moisture , but are not hollow. Wool can absorb almost one-third of its own weight in water. Wool absorbs sound like many other fabrics. It

9440-644: The lanolin left intact through the use of gentler detergents. This semigrease wool can be worked into yarn and knitted into particularly water-resistant mittens or sweaters , such as those of the Aran Island fishermen. Lanolin removed from wool is widely used in cosmetic products such as hand creams . Raw wool has many impurities; vegetable matter, sand, dirt and yolk which is a mixture of suint (sweat), grease, urine stains and dung locks. The sheep's body yields many types of wool with differing strengths, thicknesses, length of staple and impurities. The raw wool (greasy)

9558-483: The material used, fibre length and alignment, quantity of fibre used, and degree of twist. The origins of spinning fibre to make string or yarn are lost in time, but archaeological evidence in the form of representation of string skirts has been dated to the Upper Paleolithic era some 20,000 years ago. There has also been recent discovery of plied cord spun by Neanderthals and dating back 41,000-52,000 years. In

9676-413: The microscopic barbs on the surface of wool fibers hook together. Felting generally comes under two main areas, dry felting and wet felting. Wet felting occurs when water and a lubricant (especially an alkali such as soap) are applied to the wool which is then agitated until the fibers mix and bond together. Temperature shock while damp or wet accentuates the felting process. Some natural felting can occur on

9794-444: The past has made us dependent on England, and the only way we can rid ourselves of the dependence is to boycott all goods made by machinery. This is why we have made it the patriotic duty of every Indian to spin his own cotton and weave his own cloth." The Golden Spinning Wheel (Zlatý kolovrat) is a Czech poem by Karel Jaromír Erben that was included in his classic collection of folk ballads , Kytice . Rumpelstiltskin , one of

9912-579: The plot or characterization in the Scottish folk tale Habitrot and the German tales The Three Spinners and The Twelve Huntsmen . Louisa May Alcott , most famous as the author of Little Women , wrote a collection of short stories called Spinning-Wheel Stories , which were not about spinning wheels but instead meant to be read while engaging in the rather tedious act of using a spinning wheel. In 1814, Franz Schubert composed " Gretchen am Spinnrade ",

10030-413: The plying direction for the two-ply yarns. Hand-spinning is still an important skill in many traditional societies. Hobby or small scale artisan spinners spin their own yarn to control specific yarn qualities and produce yarn that is not widely available commercially. Sometimes these yarns are made available to non-spinners online and in local yarn stores. Handspinners also may spin for self-sufficiency,

10148-477: The possibility of survival for India’s impoverished rural areas. This commitment to traditional cloth making was also part of a larger swadeshi movement , which aimed for the boycott of all British goods. As Gandhi explained to Charlie Chaplin in 1931, the return to spinning did not mean a rejection of all modern technology but of the exploitative and controlling economic and political system in which textile manufacture had become entangled. Gandhi said, “Machinery in

10266-660: The production of cotton cloth, his invention becoming known as the water frame. More modern spinning machines use a mechanical means to rotate the spindle, as well as an automatic method to draw out fibres, and devices to work many spindles together at speeds previously unattainable. Newer technologies that offer even faster yarn production include friction spinning, an open-end system, and air jets. Numerous types of spinning wheels exist, including: Spinning yarn on any spinning wheel requires prepared fibre; excepting silk, which can be spun directly from unwound cocoons, fibres must be prepared for spinning, usually by combing or carding. At

10384-618: The production of wool, such as mulesing . About 85% of wool sold in Australia is sold by open cry auction . The British Wool Marketing Board operates a central marketing system for UK fleece wool with the aim of achieving the best possible net returns for farmers. Less than half of New Zealand's wool is sold at auction, while around 45% of farmers sell wool directly to private buyers and end-users. United States sheep producers market wool with private or cooperative wool warehouses, but wool pools are common in many states. In some cases, wool

10502-406: The productivity of thread making by a factor of greater than 10. Medieval historian Lynn Townsend White Jr. credited the spinning wheel with increasing the supply of rags, which led to cheap paper , which in turn was a factor in the development of printing . It was fundamental to the cotton textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution . It laid the foundations for later machinery such as

10620-584: The remainder being paid upon delivery of the product. Written contracts bound the artisans to specified terms. Fernand Braudel traces the appearance of the system in the 13th-century economic boom, quoting a document of 1275. The system effectively bypassed the guilds' restrictions. Before the flowering of the Renaissance , the Medici and other great banking houses of Florence had built their wealth and banking system on their textile industry based on wool, overseen by

10738-458: The spinner loosens their tension on the newly spun yarn, the bobbin and flyer spin relative to each other and the yarn is wound onto the bobbin. A tighter tension band increases relative torque and 'pulls' the yarn onto the bobbin more forcefully; a looser tension band 'pulls' the yarn more gently. Generally, the tension band is tighter for spinning thicker yarn or yarn with less twist, and looser for spinning thinner yarn or yarn with more twist. For

10856-411: The spinning wheel twice. The drive band turns the flyer, which is the horse-shoe shaped piece of wood surrounding the bobbin , as well as the bobbin. Due to a difference in the size of the whorls (the round pieces or pulleys around which the drive band runs) the bobbin whorl, which has a smaller radius than the flyer whorl, turns slightly faster. Thus both the flyer and bobbin rotate to twist the yarn, and

10974-629: The strong natural wave present in each wool fiber as it is presented on the animal. Wool's crimp, and to a lesser degree scales, make it easier to spin the fleece by helping the individual fibers attach, so they stay together. Because of the crimp, wool fabrics have greater bulk than other textiles, and they hold air, which causes the fabric to retain heat. Wool has a high specific thermal resistance , so it impedes heat transfer in general. This effect has benefited desert peoples, as Bedouins and Tuaregs use wool clothes for insulation. The felting of wool occurs upon hammering or other mechanical agitation as

11092-417: The strong smooth yarns needed to create warp for weaving. Spinning wheels ultimately did not develop the capability to spin a variety of yarns until the beginning of the 19th century and the mechanization of spinning. In general, the spinning technology was known for a long time before being adopted by the majority of people, thus making it hard to fix dates of the improvements. In 1533, a citizen of Brunswick

11210-467: The tales collected by the Brothers Grimm , revolves around a woman who is imprisoned under threat of execution unless she can spin straw into gold . Rumpelstiltskin helps her with this task, ultimately at the cost of her first-born child; however, she makes a new bargain with him and is able to keep her child after successfully guessing his name. Another folk tale that incorporates spinning wheels

11328-466: The tension of the drive band. The drive band on the double drive wheel is generally made from a non-stretch cotton or hemp yarn or twine. A single drive wheel set up in Scotch tension has one drive band connecting the drive wheel to the flyer. The spinning drive wheel turns the flyer and, via friction with the flyer shaft, the bobbin. A short tension band, or brake band, adds drag to the bobbin such that when

11446-490: The thinnest part of the roving; thus, when the yarn is pulled, the thicker sections with less twist will tend to thin out. Once the yarn is the desired thickness, enough twist is added to make the yarn strong. Then the yarn is wound onto the bobbin, and the process starts again. Handspinners are split, when spinning wool, as to whether it is better to spin it "in the grease" (with lanolin still in) or after it has been washed. More traditional spinners are more willing to spin in

11564-428: The tip again to make another draw. This type of wheel is powered by the spinner's foot rather than their hand or a motor. The spinner sits and pumps a foot treadle that turns the drive wheel via a crankshaft and a connecting rod. This leaves both hands free for drafting the fibres, which is necessary in the short draw spinning technique, which is often used on this type of wheel. The old-fashioned pointed driven spindle

11682-571: The top level of fineness, character, color, and style as determined on the basis of a series of parameters in accordance with the original dictates of British wool as applied by the Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) Council. Only a few dozen of the millions of bales auctioned every year can be classified and marked 1PP. In the United States, three classifications of wool are named in the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939. Wool

11800-434: The twentieth century hand-spinning remained widespread in poor countries: in conscious rejection of international industrialization, Gandhi was a notable practitioner. The hand spinning movement that he initiated as a part of the Indian freedom struggle has made the handwoven cloth known as "Khadi" made from handspun cotton yarn world-famous. Women spinners of cotton yarn still continue to work to produce handspun yarn for

11918-431: The twisting process, allowing one to "twist" the thread without having to constantly do so manually, and also the size of the wheel lets one more finely control the amount of twist. The thread still ends up on a spindle, just as it did before the invention of the wheel. The wheel itself was originally free-moving, spun by a hand or foot reaching out and turning it directly. Eventually, simple mechanisms were created that let

12036-402: The very least, foreign matter (dirt, plant stalks, or animal manure) must be removed before spinning. Most handspinners spin from 'a fluffy mass of aligned fibers' to more easily produce a consistent yarn. The tabletop or floor charkha is one of the oldest known forms of the spinning wheel. The charkha works similarly to the great wheel, with a drive wheel being turned by one hand, while the yarn

12154-502: The weaving of Khadi in Ponduru , a village in South India. A great wheel (also called a wool wheel, high wheel or walking wheel) is advantageous when using the long-draw technique to spin wool or cotton because the high ratio between the large wheel and the whorl (sheave) enables the spinner to turn the bobbin faster, thus significantly speeding up production. A Saxony wheel (also called

12272-551: The wheel slowly turned with the right. Holding the fibre at a slight angle to the spindle produced the necessary twist. The spun yarn was then wound onto the spindle by moving it so as to form a right angle with the spindle. This type of wheel, while known in Europe by the 14th century, was not in general use until later. The construction of the Great Wheel made it very good at creating long drawn soft fuzzy wools, but very difficult to create

12390-488: The wool fibers shorter, the remanufactured fabric is inferior to the original. The recycled wool may be mixed with raw wool, wool noil , or another fiber such as cotton to increase the average fiber length. Such yarns are typically used as weft yarns with a cotton warp . This process was invented in the Heavy Woollen District of West Yorkshire and created a microeconomy in this area for many years. Worsted

12508-484: The wool harder to spin using the short-draw technique, and almost impossible to spin using the long-draw technique. In general, spinners who use the long-draw technique do not spin in the grease. Such spinners generally buy their fibres pre-washed and carded, in the form of roving , sliver, or batts. This means less work for the spinners, as they do not have to wash out the lanolin. Spinners then have available predyed fibre, or blends of fibres, which are hard to create when

12626-642: The wool is still in the grease. As machine carders cannot card wool in the grease, pre-carded yarn generally is not spun in the grease. Some spinners use spray-on lanolin-like products to get the same feel of spinning in the grease with carded fibre. Wool This is an accepted version of this page Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals , especially goats , rabbits , and camelids . The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool , that have some properties similar to animal wool. As an animal fiber , wool consists of protein together with

12744-418: The wool. For example: Any wool finer than 25 microns can be used for garments, while coarser grades are used for outerwear or rugs. The finer the wool, the softer it is, while coarser grades are more durable and less prone to pilling . The finest Australian and New Zealand Merino wools are known as 1PP, which is the industry benchmark of excellence for Merino wool 16.9 microns and finer. This style represents

12862-480: The world, and in the case of South Asia it has become a powerful political symbol. Starting in 1931, the traditional spinning wheel became the primary symbol on the flag of the Provisional Government of Free India. Mahatma Gandhi ’s manner of dress and commitment to hand spinning were essential elements of his philosophy and politics. He chose the traditional loincloth as a rejection of Western culture and

12980-411: The yarn has been spun. Wool may be spun before or after washing, although excessive amounts of lanolin may make spinning difficult, especially when using a drop-spindle . Careless washing may cause felting . When done prior to spinning, this often leads to unusable wool fibre. In washing wool the key thing to avoid is too much agitation and fast temperature changes from hot to cold. Generally, washing

13098-444: The yarn is spun is called twist . Yarns are characterized as S-twist or Z-twist according to the direction of spinning (see diagram). Tightness of twist is measured in TPI (twists per inch or turns per inch) . Two or more spun yarns may be twisted together or plied to form a thicker yarn. Generally, handspun single plies are spun with a Z-twist, and plying is done with an S-twist. This

13216-514: The yarn. According to Mark Elvin , 14th-century Chinese technical manuals describe an automatic water-powered spinning wheel. Comparable devices were not developed in Europe until the 18th century. However, it fell into disuse when fibre production shifted from hemp to cotton . It was forgotten by the 17th century. The decline of the automatic spinning wheel in China is an important part of Elvin's high level equilibrium trap theory to explain why there

13334-529: Was at one time punishable by the cutting off of a hand. After the Restoration , fine English woolens began to compete with silks in the international market, partly aided by the Navigation Acts ; in 1699, the English crown forbade its American colonies to trade wool with anyone but England herself. A great deal of the value of woollen textiles was in the dyeing and finishing of the woven product. In each of

13452-694: Was developed using Australian Merino wool, and it enables woven products made from wool, such as suits, trousers, and skirts, to be cleaned using a domestic shower at home. In December 2006, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed 2009 to be the International Year of Natural Fibres , so as to raise the profile of wool and other natural fibers . Global wool production is about 2 million tonnes (2.2 million short tons) per year, of which 60% goes into apparel. Wool comprises ca 3% of

13570-473: Was dyed and worked up as cloth. At the time of the Black Death , English textile industries consumed about 10% of English wool production. The English textile trade grew during the 15th century, to the point where export of wool was discouraged. Over the centuries, various British laws controlled the wool trade or required the use of wool even in burials. The smuggling of wool out of the country, known as owling ,

13688-681: Was no indigenous Industrial Revolution in China despite its high levels of wealth and scientific knowledge. On the eve of the Industrial Revolution it took at least five spinners to supply one weaver. Lewis Paul and John Wyatt first worked on the problem in 1738, patenting the Roller Spinning machine and the flyer-and-bobbin system, for drawing wool to a more even thickness. Using two sets of rollers that travelled at different speeds, yarn could be twisted and spun quickly and efficiently. However, they did not have much financial success. In 1771, Richard Arkwright used waterwheels to power looms for

13806-628: Was possibly invented in the Islamic world by 1030. It later spread to China by 1090, and then spread from the Islamic world to Europe and India by the 13th century. In medieval times, poor families had such a need for yarn to make their own cloth and clothes that practically all girls and unmarried women would keep busy spinning, and " spinster " became synonymous with an unmarried woman. Subsequent improvements with spinning wheels and then mechanical methods made hand-spinning increasingly uneconomic, but as late as

13924-579: Was sold for a seasonal record of AU$ 2690 per kilo during June 2008. This bale was produced by the Hillcreston Pinehill Partnership and measured 11.6 microns, 72.1% yield, and had a 43 newtons per kilotex strength measurement. The bale realized $ 247,480 and was exported to India. In 2007, a new wool suit was developed and sold in Japan that can be washed in the shower, and which dries off ready to wear within hours with no ironing required. The suit

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