Spinning (textiles)
Spinning is the process of creating yarn (or thread, rope, cable) from various raw fiber materials.
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Process
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.
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 not commercially available. They also may spin for self-sufficiency, sense of accomplishment, or sense of connection to history and the land. In addition, they may take up spinning for its meditative qualities.
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[1] (Christmas Garland, eccentric beads, money, etc.) that would not be in a traditional yarn, to creating new techniques like coiling[2], this craft is constantly evolving and shifting in new and fun ways.
Materials
Yarn can be made from a wide variety of materials:
- Plant fibers: cotton, flax (to produce linen), bamboo, ramie, hemp, nettle, raffia, yucca, coconut husk, banana trees, 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)
- Mineral fibers: asbestos
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.
In mythology
In Greek mythology, Clotho spins the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle.
See also
External links
- Hampshire Spinning Guild - glossary of spinning terms, and pictures
- Joy of Hand Spinning - video instruction
- ICanSpin.com - video instruction
- NY State Sheep & Wool Festival - New York State Sheep & Wool Festival
- Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival - Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival; America's largest, with over 60,000 people in attendance each year.
Categories
Spinning | Textile arts