Spinning wheel
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A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from natural or man-made fibers.
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[edit] Overview
The spinning wheel was probably invented in India between 500 and 1000 A.D.[1][2][3] It reached Europe via the Middle East in the European Middle Ages and 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 fiber is held in the left hand and the wheel slowly turned with the right. Holding the fiber at an angle to the spindle produced the necessary twist.[4]
A series of improvements occurred in the 16th century and culminated in the first rotor or open end spinning mill in the United States in 1790. More modern spinning wheels used a mechanical means to rotate the spindle, an automatic method to draw out fibers, and devices to work many spindles together at speeds previously unattainable.[5] Newer technologies that offer even faster yarn production include friction spinning, an open-end system, and air jets.[1]
[edit] Types of spinning wheels
Numerous types of spinning wheels exist, including the great wheel also known as walking wheel or wool wheel for rapid long-draw spinning of woolen-spun yarns; the flax wheel, which is a double-drive wheel used with a distaff for spinning linen; saxony and upright wheels, all-purpose treadle driven wheels used to spin worsted-spun yarns; and the charkha, native to Asia. Until the acceptance of rotor spinning wheel, all yarns were produced by aligning fibers through drawing techniques and then twisting the fiber together. With rotor spinning, the fibers in the roving are separated, thus open end, and then wrapped and twisted as the yarn is drawn out of the rotor cup.
[edit] Hand-powered wheels
Hand powered spinning wheels are powered by the spinner turning a crank for flywheel with their hand, as opposed to pressing peddles or using a mechanical engine.
[edit] Charkha
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 hand, while the yarn is spun off the tip of the spindle.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.[citation needed]
The charkha (etymologically related to Chakra) was both a tool and a symbol of the Indian independence movement.The charkha, a small, portable, hand-cranked wheel is ideal for spinning cotton and other fine, short-staple fibers, though it can be used to spin other fibers as well. The size varies, from that of a hardbound novel to the size of a briefcase, to a floor charkha. Mahatma Gandhi brought the charkha into larger use with his teachings. He hoped the charkha would assist the peoples of India achieve self-sufficiency and independence, and so used the charkha as a symbol of the Indian independence movement and included it on earlier versions of the Flag of India.[citation needed]
[edit] Great wheel
The great wheel was one of the earlier types of spinning wheel. The fiber is held in the left hand and the wheel slowly turned with the right. This wheel is thus good for using the long-draw spinning technique, which requires only one active hand most of the time, thus freeing a hand to turn the wheel. The great wheel is usually used to spin wool, and can only be used with fiber preparations that are suited to long-draw spinning.
The great wheel is usually over 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 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 fiber 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 the fiber 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 spiraling back out to the tip again to make another draw.
[edit] Treadle wheel
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 fibers. The old-fashioned pointed distaff spindle 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 preference and does not affect the operation of the wheel.
[edit] Double drive
The double drive wheel is named after its drive band, which goes around 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. The bobbin has a smaller radius than the flyer, thus the drive band tries to turn it faster. When the yarn is being wound on the bobbin, the bobbin goes faster and winds yarn on.
The drive band on the double drive wheel is generally made from a no-stretch yarn; candlewick is also used.
[edit] Single drive
A single drive wheel has one drive band, that goes around the fly-wheel and the bobbin or the flyer. Most of the drive bands for single drive wheels are made from synthetic cord, which is elastic and does not slip easily on the wheel.
While the spinner is making new yarn, the bobbin and the flyer turn in unison, but when the spinner wants to wind the yarn onto the bobbin, the bobbin or the flyer slows down and thus the yarn winds on. The one part slows down because of the brake band, which loops over that element. The tighter the brake band is, the more pull on the yarn, because the more friction the bobbin has to overcome in order to turn in sync with the flyer.
[edit] Castle style
When the spindle and flyer are located above the wheel, rather than off to one side, the wheel is said to be a castle wheel. This type of wheel is often more compact, thus easier to store. Some castle wheels are even made to fold up small enough that they fit in carry-on luggage at the airport.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Cotton: Origin, History, Technology, and Production By C. Wayne Smith, Joe Tom Cothren. Page viii. Published 1999. John Wiley and Sons. Technology & Industrial Arts. 864 pages. ISBN 0471180459
- ^ The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Columbia University Press
- ^ 1994-2007 Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.
- ^ Spinning wheel. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 7, 2007, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
- ^ Encyclopedia Britannica Eleventh Edition article on spinning.
[edit] References
- Cotton: Origin, History, Technology, and Production By C. Wayne Smith, Joe Tom Cothren. Published 1999. John Wiley and Sons. Technology & Industrial Arts. 864 pages. ISBN 0471180459
[edit] See also
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
[edit] External links
- The Spinning Wheel by Mary Bellis
- Yarn at enotes.com
- Spinning Cotton - with charkha diagram
Spinning | ||
|---|---|---|
| Materials: | Noil · Rolag · Roving · Sliver · Staple · Tow · Woolen · Worsted | Image:Hermann Sondermann Familie mit Frau am Spinnrad detail.jpg |
| Techniques: | Carding · Combing · Twist per inch | |
| Tools: | Distaff · Niddy noddy · Spindle · Spinning wheel · Spinners weasel | |
| Industrial Spinning: | Cotton-spinning machinery · Spinning frame · Spinning jenny · Spinning Mule · Waterframe | |
Textile arts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fundamentals: | Applique · Crochet · Dyeing · Fiber · Knitting · Lace · Nålebinding · Needlework · Textiles · Patchwork · Passementerie · Quilting · Rope · Sewing · Spinning · Tapestry · Textile printing · Weaving · Yarn | |
| History of... : | Clothing and textiles · Silk · Quilting · Textiles in the Industrial Revolution · Timeline of textile technology | |
| Related: | Blocking · Manufacturing · Preservation · Terminology · Textile industry · Textile Museums | |
pdc:Schpinnraad de:Spinnrad fr:Rouet (outil) gl:Roca is:Rokkur it:Telaio (tessitura) hu:Rokka nl:Spinnewiel no:Spinnerokk ja:糸車 pl:Kołowrotek pt:Roca de fiar ru:Прялка fi:Rukki sv:Spinnrock zh:纺车
