Spinning (textiles)

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A hand-turned spinning wheel in action
A hand-turned spinning wheel in action
Cones of yarn for industrial use
Cones of yarn for industrial use

Spinning is the process of creating yarn (or thread, rope, cable) from various raw fiber materials.

Contents

[edit] Process

Separate fibers are twisted together to bind them into a stronger, long yarn. Characteristics of the yarn vary, based on the material used, fiber length and alignment, quantity of fiber used and degree of twist. A tightly spun yarn with no air in it is called worsted; it is handspun from a roving or combs, and has the fibers all lie in the same direction as the yarn. A woolen yarn, in contrast, is handspun from a rolag, where the fibers are aligned in a circle that is perpendicular to the yarn created. The woolen yarn thus captures much more air, and makes for a softer, not as strong and generally bulkier yarn. Often a spinner will spin using some techniques for both yarns, and thus make a semi-worsted yarn. [1]

[edit] History

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. The hand-turned spinning wheel called a charkha was prevalent in India and was used by Gandhi and his followers.

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 that is not widely available commercially, but can be found online and in many local yarn stores. Handspinners also may spin for self-sufficiency, 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.

[edit] Contemporary spinning

Within the recent past, many new spinners have joined into this ancient process, innovating the craft and creating new techniques. From using many new applications of dyeing before spinning, to mixing in random elements (Christmas Garland, eccentric beads, money, etc.) that would not be in a traditional yarn, to creating new techniques like coiling[1], this craft is constantly evolving and shifting.

[edit] Materials

Yarn can be made from a wide variety of materials:

[edit] In books and stories

  • Sarah 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.
  • Spinners by Donna Jo Napoli: A retelling of the fairy tale favorite Rumpelstiltskin.
  • Gretchen at the Spinning Wheelby J. W. Goethe: A poem from Urfaust A women thinks with longing of her absent lover while spinning on her spinning wheel.

[edit] In mythology

In Greek mythology, Clotho spins the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle.

[edit] See also

[edit] Resources

[edit] Books

  • Amos, Alden (2001). The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning, Loveland, Colorado: Interweave Press. ISBN 1883010888
  • Boeger, Alexis (2005). Handspun Revolution, Pluckyfluff. ISBN 0976725207
  • Ross, Mabel (1987). Essentials of Handspinning, Robin and Russ Handweavers. ISBN 0950729205
  • Simmons, Paula (1982). Spinning for Softness and Speed, Seattle: Madrona. ISBN 0914842870

[edit] Instructional Sites

[edit] External links

[edit] Wool Festivals

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