Unfortunately,
spinning by distaff and spindle was extremely
slow.
One of
the oldest known tools whose remains are still in
existence today is one that was used for
spinning wool. The traditional tool, the drop spindle, was still commonly used up to the
18th century.
The spinner
allowed the drop spindle to hang free while
twisting with the other hand. The drop spindle
teased more wool from the bundle and twisted the
wool into yarn. After the spindle had dropped to
the ground, the spinner could wind the spun yarn
around the spindle and carry-on. The spinner
could also carry the loose fleece on a distaff;
this allowed the spinner to tend animals or do
other work while spinning the wool. The spinning
wheel was introduced to the Highlands in the
early part of the 18th century, and although
heavy and fixed in position, in the hands of an
expert spinner the wool could be spun much
faster than by the traditional methods.
The early wheel, the
"muckle wheel", was of a simple design. A drive belt linked
the large wheel to the small spindle to which the teased wool was
tied. A slow turning of the large wheel with one hand, while
holding and twisting the wool with the other, would cause the
spindle to quickly draw more wool from the bundle. The muckle
wheel could be used to spin the wool directly onto a weaver's
bobbin.
The muckle wheel was
replaced by the "Saxony wheel". This had a number of advantages
over the muckle wheel. The small Saxony had a drive-belt system
which turned not only a spindle but also a bobbin, and therefore
the wool was twisted as it was wound on the bobbin. Also, because
the wheel was turned by a foot pedal, the spinner was able to
sit-down. The "saxony" type wheel is still used today by
the handicraft wool spinners.
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