Spinning wheel

A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres. It was fundamental to the textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the spinning jenny and spinning frame, which displaced the spinning wheel during the Industrial Revolution.

Function The basic spinning of yarn involves taking a clump of fibres and teasing a bit of them out, then twisting it into a basic string shape. The spinner continues pulling and twisting the yarn in this manner to make it longer and longer while also controlling the thickness. Thousands of years ago, people began using a weighted stick, called a spindle, to speed up the process of spinning by twisting it quickly between the fingers and allowing it to carry the momentum of the twist. The spinning wheel automates the twisting process, increasing the speed of yarn production and improving the quality of the finished product due to more consistent twist speed. The larger wheel now drives the spindle, rather than the spindle being twisted by hand. The wheel itself was originally free-moving, spun by a hand or foot reaching out and turning it directly. Eventually, simple mechanisms were added that let the spinner push a pedal, called a treadle, to keep the wheel turning at a more constant rate. This mechanism was the main source of technological progress for the spinning wheel before the 18th century.

History

The history of the spinning wheel is disputed, with:

J. M. Kenoyer, involved in the study of the Indus Valley Civilization, speculating that the uniformity of the thread and tight weave from a clay impression indicates the use of a spinning wheel rather than drop spindles, but according to Mukhtar Ahmed, the spinning whorls used since prehistoric times by the Indus Valley people produce a tight weave. Dieter Kuhn and Weiji Cheng propose the spinning wheel originated in Zhou dynasty China, in the first millennium BCE, are mentioned in Chinese dictionaries of the 2nd century CE, and in widespread use by c. 1090, with the earliest clear Chinese illustration of the machine dated to around 1270. C. Wayne Smith and J. Tom Cothren, propose the spinning wheel was invented in India as early as 500–1000 AD. Arnold Pacey and Irfan Habib propose the spinning wheel was most likely invented in the Middle-East by the early 11th century. There is evidence pointing to the spinning wheel being known in the Middle-East by 1030, and the earliest clear illustration of the spinning wheel is from Baghdad, drawn in 1237. Arnold Pacey and Irfan Habib suggest that early references to cotton spinning in India are vague and do not clearly identify a wheel, but more likely refer to hand spinning, offering as the earliest unambiguous reference to a spinning wheel in India, 1350, is a passage in Abdul Malik Isami’s work, Futuh-us-Salatin, which proposes a woman's place is at her Charkha. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri and Vijaya Ramaswamy suggest there is clear reference to the use of a spinning wheel (with a description of its parts) by the 12th century in India, by Kannada poet, Remmavve. The spinning wheel spread from the Middle East to Europe by the 13th century, with the earliest European illustration dated to around 1280. In France, the spindle and distaff were not displaced until the mid 18th century. The spinning wheel 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 fibre is held in the left hand and the wheel slowly turned with the right. Holding the fibre at a slight angle to the spindle produced the necessary twist. The spun yarn was then wound onto the spindle by moving it so as to form a right angle with the spindle. This type of wheel, while known in Europe by the 14th century, was not in general use until later. The construction of the great wheel made it very good at creating long-drawn, soft fuzzy wools, but it was difficult to create the strong smooth yarns needed to create warp for weaving. Spinning wheels ultimately did not develop the capability to spin a variety of yarns until the beginning of the 19th century and the mechanization of spinning.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.