The Spinster's Treadle

Handspinning yarn – why?

Handspinning is the art of creating yarn (or thread) from fibers. A handspinner creates yarn by twisting fibers together using tools such as drop spindles and spinning wheels. There are many different techniques and types of fiber used to produce a variety of yarns.

Fortunately, handspinning is a chosen art in the United States and no longer a way of life that would make one consider it a chore. However, there are still many older people in our communities that remember spinning yarn and weaving fabric as part of their daily lives. In other parts of the world handspinning is still as important as it was for us in the 1700’s. Women in nomadic cultures carry spindles with them every where they go and prepare yarn with every spare moment.

Why would anyone choose to spin their own yarns today when there are thousands of yarn choices out there? For more choices of course! Since most handspinners use their own yarn to knit, weave, etc., they have control of the entire process from raw material to final product! However, while beginners spin wonderful yarns, it takes a while to achieve this level of "designing" yarns. Fortunately, most spinners don’t look at spinning as a "means to an end". They enjoy the process of spinning as well. The fibers are soft and full of character and the yarn winding on the bobbin is always unique. And treadling a spinning wheel is a rhythmic and relaxing process that becomes addictive!

Since most of the fibers I use are naturally derived, I feel a connection to the world and the symbiotic relationship we must maintain with the earth. We have lost that connection with the industrialization of our country and the consequences are evident in some of the environmental and political decisions that are made by this country each day!

Learning an ancient craft and demonstrating it’s modern utility is also very rewarding. I feel it is important that we keep historically important arts and crafts from being lost to future generations.

There are many resources available on spinning. Books are excellent but I also suggest taking a class. Try to find classes that teaches you how to prepare the fibers and lets you try lots of different fibers since they all spin quite differently. It is also good if there are different wheels available that you can try in the class. The goal is to find a class that you can leave with an idea of what type of yarn you like to make and what kinds of raw material you will need and the knowledge to prepare it. And, with this information and after having tried a few different spinning wheels, you can purchase a wheel designed to spin the kinds of yarn that you would like to make. This type of class is usually 3 –5 days long and can be costly but much cheaper than buying the wrong kind of wheel or fibers and getting discouraged!

The evolution of spinning equipment (one version)

If a bunch of fibers are held in one hand and drawn out, a few will part company from the bunch. If they are twisted in one direction they will form a thread (or yarn). Drawing out the fibers and twisting at the same time makes a continuous thread. More twist makes the yarn stronger. This is likely how the first yarn/rope/thread was made. At some point a stick was tied to the end and used to twist the lengths of drawn fiber.

To increase efficiency a whorl (weight) was added to the stick and the drop spindle was created. It could be spun like a top so both hands were free (briefly) to manipulate the fibers. The resulting yarn could then be wound onto the spindle and stored while the next length was made and repeated until the spindle was full.

At some point (India, 1257) a large wheel was attached to the spindle by way of a drive band. When the wheel was turned the spindle turned many times and with much less effort than turning the spindle itself by hand. This was a spindle wheel and similar to the great or walking wheel of today.

The treadle/flyer wheel (1475) allows the feet to operate the treadle and rotate the wheel leaving both hands free to handle the fiber. And the flyer allows the yarn to be drawn on to the bobbin automatically for continuous spinning. This is the type of wheel most of us use today and there are many different styles that were developed by many different countries and cultures.

History of Spinning

No one really knows when the first spun fiber was made. The oldest known fabric is from 6300 BC (Turkey) and already showed great skill.

All fabrics were made from yarns spun from animals and plants until the mid 1800’s and all yarn colors were made with natural dyes from plants and bugs. Textiles and wool were very important commodities throughout history. Great Britain tried very hard to keep sheep out of America so they could force the colonies to buy textile products from abroad. Sheep did make to the colonies but at first they were so scarce that any person who killed or harmed a sheep was executed even if they were the owner!

An industrious housewife was one that spent every spare minute spinning either for her family’s own use or as barter for other items. Being a spinner was a symbol of value and thrift.

Originally, being a spinster meant that you spun yarn. However, in the 1700’s spinster became the legal term for unmarried women past their "prime". This was because the best spinners were always unmarried. Developing the skill necessary to make the finest yarns required more time than any married women with children could afford. Therefore being a spinster of the highest skill also meant you were unmarried!!

In the 1600’s up to the 1800’s young girls made up the spinning labor force (6 to 9 years old) and worked extremely long hours for low wages. But in the 1800’s spinning became mechanized and textiles were soon a major player in the industrial revolution. However, even with these dramatic changes in the industry, spinning wheels were still common in households up in to the early 1900’s.

Today in the United States there has been a renewed interest in handspinning and demonstrations are found at many festivals and fairs. There are festivals and conferences that are specifically designed for handspinners held all over the country.

Lori Flood