Spinning (textiles)

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

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 fibres 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.

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. And, of course, for the meditative qualities of spinning.

Materials

Yarn can be made from a wide variety of materials:

Plant fibers: cotton, flax (to produce linen), ramie, hemp, nettle, raffia, yucca, coconut husk, and soy
Animal materials: wool, goat (angora, or cashmere goat), rabbit (angora), llama, alpaca, dog, camel, yak, qiviut, and silk
Synthetic fibers: nylon, rayon, acetate, polyester, tencel, and ingeo
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.

External links

Interweave Spin-Off - popular spinning magazine
Hand Spinners.com - spinning links directory, fiber resources
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.

Spinning | Textile arts