Auckland, New Zealand
DROP SPINNING DEMONSTRATION
Fleece to Yarn!A living history resource for museums.
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A drop spindle is small, easily carried and always available to spin fleece to yarn in idle moments, but the process it is not as easy as it looks! Carders help in the preparation of fleece and a niddy-noddy in the winding of yarn into skeins.Drop spinning and wool carding are demonstrated, as well as some uses of fleece and yarn. The demonstration is available to historical houses, museums and other venues serving the public within 150 kms of Auckland, New Zealand.
Hand spinning using a whorl or drop spindle, has been a common practice for thousands of years, throughout the world. Spindle whorls have been discovered in Iran that date from 5000 B.C. In Zurich, Switzerland whorls have been found from around 3000 B.C.
The first spindle wheel was developed in Asia between 500 and 1000 A.D. gradually it spread to other countries.
Generations of women learnt to spin to produce the vast quantities of yarn that was required to make the woven cloth for clothing.
Wheel spinning
Hand or drop spindles have the advantage of being simple and portable, enabling the user to carry their work around with them to do in moments between other household tasks.
A drop spindle with spun yarn and fleece.
Hand spindles were made from a variety of materials; the stem from wood, cane or reed. The whorl from wood, clay, stone, leather, dried gourd, bead or whatever material was available.
Some spindles had a piece of crossed wood at the base to allow the yarn to be wound directly into a ball instead of around the stem as a cone.
Fleece can be spun directly onto a spindle but usually hand carders are used to prepare the fleece into rolags.
A pair of carders for carding fleece into rolags
Spun yarn is wound onto a ‘niddy-noddy or stick skeiner to produce skeins. The niddy-noddy is a length of wood with cross pieces at either end set at right angles to each other. One of the cross pieces can usually be slid out from the main length to allow the skein to be removed.
Tied skeins can be washed in soap before using the yarn.
Copyright RPL 11/2/2007
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