SPINNING

 

  Spinning is the process of making threads by twisting plant or animal fibers. It is one of the most ancient arts. For thousands of years, yarn was spun by means of a spindle. This consisted of little more than a smooth stick from 9 to 15 inches long. It had one notch at one end for catching the thread, and a stone or baked clay bowl, called a whorl, to help make the spindle spin, like a top.

Spinning

The great wheel, developed in India around 500 B.C., was the first spinning device to have a mechanized spindle.

 Early spinning wheels included the great wheel and the Saxony wheel. The great wheel, developed in India around 500 B.C., was the first spinning device to have a mechanized spindle. The great wheel was used in Europe by the Middle Ages. The Saxony wheel, which was developed in Germany in the late 1400's and early 1500's featured a foot pedal that turned a spindle. New England housewives used both the great wheel and the Saxony wheel during colonial times.

 

from the World Book Encyclopedia

 

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