Spinning (textiles)
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A hand-turned spinning wheel in action |
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Cones of yarn for industrial use |
Spinning is the process of creating
yarn (or thread, rope, cable) from various raw fiber materials.
Separate fibers are twisted together to bind them into a strong, long yarn. Characteristics of the yarn vary based on the material used, fiber length and alignment, quantity of fiber used and degree of twist.
The earliest spinning probably involved simply twisting the fibers in the hand. Later a stick, called a
spindle, was used to add the twist and hold the twisted fiber. Usually a whorl or weight stabilizes the spindle. The spindle is spun and twists the fiber until it becomes yarn. The spindle may be suspended or supported. Later the
spinning wheel was developed which allowed continuous and faster yarn production. Spinning wheels may be foot, hand or electrically powered.
Modern powered spinning, originally done by
water or
steam power but now done by
electricity, is vastly faster than hand-spinning.
Hobby or small scale artisan spinners spin their own yarn to control specific yarn qualities and produce yarn not commercially available. They also may spin for self-sufficiency, sense of accomplishment, or sense of connection to history and the land. And, of course, for the meditative qualities of spinning.
Yarn can be made from a wide variety of materials:
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Plant fibers:
cotton,
flax (to produce
linen),
ramie,
hemp,
nettle,
raffia,
yucca,
coconut husk, and
soy*
Animal materials:
wool,
goat (
angora, or
cashmere goat),
rabbit (
angora),
llama,
alpaca,
dog,
camel,
yak,
qiviut, and
silk*Manufactured fibers:
nylon,
rayon(derived from wood pulp),
acetate,
polyester,
tencel (derived from wood pulp), and
ingeo (derived from corn)
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Mineral fibers:
asbestosSarah by
Orson Scott Card: As a young girl, Sarah spins yarn to make the cloth for her older sister's wedding dress. She includes strands of her own hair so the fabric will glisten in the light.
Sleeping Beauty: Briar Rose enters a castle tower on her 15th birthday to find an old woman spinning flax; she touches the spindle of the spinning wheel, fulfilling a curse causing her to fall asleep for a hundred years.
Rumpelstiltskin: After a miller boasts to the king that his daughter can turn grain into gold, the daughter finds herself thrown in a dungeon with orders to spin straw into gold.
In
Greek mythology,
Clotho spins the thread of life from her
distaff onto her spindle.
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Crochet*
Knitting*
Loom*
Spinning jenny*
Weaving*
Interweave Spin-Off - popular spinning magazine
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Hand Spinners.com - spinning links directory, fiber resources
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Hampshire Spinning Guild - glossary of spinning terms, and pictures
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Joy of Hand Spinning - video instruction
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ICanSpin.com - video instruction
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NY State Sheep & Wool Festival - New York State Sheep & Wool Festival
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Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival - Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival; America's largest, with over 60,000 people in attendance each year.
