![Hindoo Spinning-Wheel (September 1852, p](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Hindoo_Spinning-Wheel_%28September_1852%2C_p.108%2C_IX%29_-_Copy.jpg)
A spinning wheel is a device for
spinning
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
thread or
yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufact ...
from
fibres
Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...
. It was fundamental to the cotton textile industry prior to the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the
spinning jenny
The spinning jenny is a multi-spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of textile manufacturing during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764 or 1765 by James Hargreaves in Stanhill ...
and
spinning frame
The spinning frame is an Industrial Revolution invention for spinning thread or yarn from fibres such as wool or cotton in a mechanized way. It was developed in 18th-century Britain by Richard Arkwright and John Kay.
Historical context
In 17 ...
, 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 to make it longer and longer, and to control the thickness. Thousands of years ago, people began doing this onto a stick, called a
spindle
Spindle may refer to:
Textiles and manufacturing
* Spindle (textiles), a straight spike to spin fibers into yarn
* Spindle (tool), a rotating axis of a machine tool
Biology
* Common spindle and other species of shrubs and trees in genus ''Euony ...
, which was a very lengthy process.
The actual wheel part of a spinning wheel does not take the place of the spindle, instead it automates the twisting process, allowing one to "twist" the thread without having to constantly do so manually, and also the size of the wheel lets one more finely control the amount of twist. The thread still ends up on a spindle, just as it did before the invention of the wheel.
The wheel itself was originally free-moving, spun by a hand or foot reaching out and turning it directly. Eventually, simple mechanisms were created that let a person simply push at a pedal and keep the wheel turning at an even more constant rate. This mechanism has been the main source of technological progress for the spinning wheel, before the 18th century.
History
![Wang Juzheng's Spinning Wheel, Close Up 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Wang_Juzheng%27s_Spinning_Wheel%2C_Close_Up_2.jpg)
The history of the spinning wheel is disputed, with:
*
J.M Kenoyer, involved in the study of the
Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...
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
Drop, DROP, drops or DROPS may refer to:
* Drop (liquid) or droplet, a small volume of liquid
** Eye drops, saline (sometimes mydriatic) drops used as medication for the eyes
* Drop (unit), a unit of measure of volume
* Falling (physics), allow ...
, 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
The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...
China, in the first millennia 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
Irfan Habib (born August 10, 1931) is an Indian historian of ancient and medieval India, following the methodology of Marxist historiography in his contributions to economic history. He identifies as a Marxist and is well known for his strong ...
propose the spinning wheel was most likely invented in the
Islamic world
The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...
by the early 11th century. There is evidence pointing to the spinning wheel being known in the Islamic world by 1030, and the earliest clear illustration of the spinning wheel is from
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
, drawn in 1237.
Arnold Pacey and
Irfan Habib
Irfan Habib (born August 10, 1931) is an Indian historian of ancient and medieval India, following the methodology of Marxist historiography in his contributions to economic history. He identifies as a Marxist and is well known for his strong ...
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
Spinning is an ancient textile arts, textile art in which fibre crop, plant, animal fibre, animal or synthetic fibre, synthetic fibres are drawn out and twisted together to form yarn. For thousands of years, fibre was spun by hand using simple ...
, offering as the earliest unambiguous reference to a spinning wheel in India, 1350, is a passage in
Abdul Malik Isami
Abdul Malik Isami (1311–?) was a 14th-century Indian historian and court poet. He wrote in Persian language, under the patronage of Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah, the founder of the Bahmani Sultanate. He is best known for ''Futuh-us-Salatin'' (c. 1350 ...
’s work, ''Futuh-us-Salatin'', which proposes a woman’s place is at her Charkha.
*
K. A. Nilakanta Sastri
Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri (12 August 1892 – 15 June 1975) was an Indian historian who wrote on South Indian history. Many of his books form the standard reference works on the subject. Sastri was acclaimed for his scholarship and ...
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 Islamic world 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
Spinning is an ancient textile arts, textile art in which fibre crop, plant, animal fibre, animal or synthetic fibre, synthetic fibres are drawn out and twisted together to form yarn. For thousands of years, fibre was spun by hand using simple ...
with a
spindle
Spindle may refer to:
Textiles and manufacturing
* Spindle (textiles), a straight spike to spin fibers into yarn
* Spindle (tool), a rotating axis of a machine tool
Biology
* Common spindle and other species of shrubs and trees in genus ''Euony ...
. 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 very 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.
In general, the spinning technology was known for a long time before being adopted by the majority of people, thus making it hard to fix dates of the improvements. In 1533, a citizen of
Brunswick is said to have added a
treadle
A treadle (from oe, tredan, "to tread") is a mechanism operated with a pedal for converting reciprocating motion into rotating motion. Along with cranks, treadmills, and treadwheels, treadles allow human and animal machine power in the absenc ...
, by which the spinner could rotate her spindle with one foot and have both hands free to spin.
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
drew a picture of the flyer, which twists the yarn before winding it onto the spindle. During the 16th century a treadle wheel with flyer was in common use, and gained such names as the Saxony wheel and the
flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
wheel. It sped up production, as one needn't stop spinning to wind up the yarn.
According to
Mark Elvin
John Mark Dutton Elvin (born 1938) is a professor emeritus of Chinese history at Australian National University, specializing in the late imperial period; he is also emeritus fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford.
Early life
Elvin, the only ch ...
, 14th-century Chinese technical manuals describe an automatic water-powered spinning wheel. Comparable devices were not developed in Europe until the 18th century. However, it fell into disuse when fibre production shifted from
hemp
Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...
to
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
. It was forgotten by the 17th century. The decline of the automatic spinning wheel in China is an important part of Elvin's
high level equilibrium trap
The high-level equilibrium trap is a concept developed by environmental historian Mark Elvin to explain why China never underwent an indigenous Industrial Revolution despite its wealth, stability, and high level of scientific achievement. Essentia ...
theory to explain why there was no indigenous
industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
in China despite its high levels of wealth and scientific knowledge.
On the eve of the
Industrial revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
it took at least five spinners to supply one weaver.
Lewis Paul
Lewis Paul (died 1759) was the original inventor of roller spinning, the basis of the water frame for spinning cotton in a cotton mill.
Life and work
Lewis Paul was of Huguenot descent. His father was physician to Lord Shaftesbury. He may hav ...
and
John Wyatt first worked on the problem in 1738, patenting the Roller Spinning machine and the flyer-and-bobbin system, for drawing
wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
to a more even thickness. Using two sets of rollers that travelled at different speeds, yarn could be twisted and spun quickly and efficiently. However, they did not have much financial success. In 1771, Richard Arkwright used waterwheels to power looms for the production of cotton cloth, his invention becoming known as the water frame.
More modern spinning machines use a mechanical means to rotate the spindle, as well as an automatic method to draw out fibres, and devices to work many spindles together at speeds previously unattainable.
Newer technologies that offer even faster yarn production include friction spinning, an open-end system, and air jets.
[Cotton: Origin, History, Technology, and Production By C. Wayne Smith, Joe Tom Cothren. Page viii. Published 1999. John Wiley and Sons. Technology & Industrial Arts. 864 pages. ]
Types
Numerous types of spinning wheels exist, including:
* the ''great wheel'' also known as ''walking wheel'' or ''wool wheel'' for rapid
long draw
Long draw is the spinning (textiles), spinning technique used to create woolen yarns. It is spun from carding, carded rolags. It is generally spun from shorter staple (wool), stapled fibers. Long draw spun yarns are light, lofty, stretchy, soft, ...
spinning of
woolen
Woolen (American English) or woollen (Commonwealth English) is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast t ...
-spun yarns;
* the ''
flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
wheel'', which is a double-drive wheel used with a
distaff
A distaff (, , also called a rock"Rock." ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989.), is a tool used in spinning. It is designed to hold the unspun fibers, keeping them untangled and thus easing the spinning process. It is most commonly us ...
for spinning flax fibres for making
linen
Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.
Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...
;
* ''
saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
'' and ''upright'' wheels, all-purpose treadle driven wheels used to spin both woolen and
worsted-spun yarns; and
* the ''charkha'', native to Asia.
Until the acceptance of rotor spinning wheel, all yarns were produced by aligning fibres through drawing techniques and then twisting the fibre together. With rotor spinning, the fibres in the
roving
A roving is a long and narrow bundle of fiber. Rovings are produced during the process of making spun yarn from wool fleece, raw cotton, or other fibres. Their main use is as fibre prepared for spinning, but they may also be used for specialised ...
are separated, thus opened, and then wrapped and twisted as the yarn is drawn out of the rotor cup.
Charkha
The tabletop or floor charkha is one of the oldest known forms of the spinning wheel. The charkha works similarly to the great wheel, with a drive wheel being turned by one hand, while the yarn is spun off the tip of the spindle with the other. The floor charkha and the great wheel closely resemble each other. With both, the spinning must stop in order to wind the yarn onto the spindle.
The word ''charkha'', which has links with
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
(
Romanize
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
d: "charkh"), wheel, is related to the Sanskrit word for "circle" (''cakra''). The charkha was both a tool and a symbol of the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
. The charkha, a small, portable, hand-cranked wheel, is ideal for spinning
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
and other fine, short-staple fibres, though it can be used to spin other fibres as well. The size varies, from that of a hardbound novel to the size of a briefcase, to a floor charkha. Leaders of the
India's Freedom Struggle
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...
brought the charkha into wider use with their teachings. They hoped the charkha would assist the people of India achieve self-sufficiency and independence, and therefore used the charkha as a symbol of the Indian independence movement and included it on earlier versions of the
Flag of India
The national flag of India, Colloquialism, colloquially called the tricolour, is a horizontal rectangular tricolour flag of Saffron (color)#India saffron, India saffron, white and Variations of green#India green, India green; with the ', a 24 ...
.
File:Charkha kept at Gandhi Ashram.jpg, A charkha used by Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
File:Woman spinning, Jaura, India.jpg, Using a bicycle-wheel charkha (and a yarn swift)
File:Compact Charkha.jpg, Modified and portable compact charkha (peti charkha)
File:Lady yarn in a Charkha in Bangalore.webm, A woman spinning with a peti charkha in MG Road Boulevard, Bangalore
Great wheel
![Conner-prairie-spinning-wheel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Conner-prairie-spinning-wheel.jpg)
The great wheel was one of the earlier types of spinning wheel. The fibre is held in the left hand and the wheel slowly turned with the right. This wheel is thus good for using the
long-draw spinning technique, which requires only one active hand most of the time, thus freeing a hand to turn the wheel. The great wheel is usually used to spin short-staple fibres (this includes both cotton and wool), and can only be used with fibre preparations that are suited to long-draw spinning.
The great wheel is usually over in height. The large drive wheel turns the much smaller spindle assembly, with the spindle revolving many times for each turn of the drive wheel. The yarn is spun at an angle off the tip of the spindle, and is then stored on the spindle. To begin spinning on a great wheel, first a leader (a length of waste yarn) is tied onto the base of the spindle and spiraled up to the tip. Then the spinner overlaps a handful of fibre with the leader, holding both gently together with the left hand, and begins to slowly turn the drive wheel clockwise with the right hand, while simultaneously walking backward and drawing the fibre in the left hand away from the spindle at an angle. The left hand must control the tension on the wool to produce an even result. Once a sufficient amount of yarn has been made, the spinner turns the wheel backward a short distance to unwind the spiral on the spindle, then turns it clockwise again, and winds the newly made yarn onto the spindle, finishing the wind-on by spiralling back out to the tip again to make another draw.
Treadle wheel
![WHEELPARTS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/WHEELPARTS.jpg)
This type of wheel is powered by the spinner's foot rather than their hand or a motor. The spinner sits and pumps a foot treadle that turns the drive wheel via a crankshaft and a connecting rod. This leaves both hands free for drafting the fibres, which is necessary in the
short draw
Fat draw is the spinning technique used to create worsted yarns. It is spun from combed roving, slivers or wool top – anything with the fibers all lined up parallel to the yarn. It is generally spun from long stapled fibers. Short draw spun ...
spinning technique, which is often used on this type of wheel. The old-fashioned pointed driven spindle is not a common feature of the treadle wheel. Instead, most modern wheels employ a flyer-and-bobbin system which twists the yarn and winds it onto a spool simultaneously. These wheels can be single- or double-treadle; which is a matter of preference and does not affect the operation of the wheel.
Double drive
![Double drive wheel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Double_drive_wheel.JPG)
The double drive wheel is named after its drive band, which goes around the spinning wheel twice. The drive band turns the flyer, which is the horse-shoe shaped piece of wood surrounding the
bobbin
A bobbin or spool is a spindle or cylinder, with or without flanges, on which yarn, thread, wire, tape or film is wound. Bobbins are typically found in industrial textile machinery, as well as in sewing machines, fishing reels, tape measure ...
, as well as the bobbin. Due to a difference in the size of the whorls (the round pieces or pulleys around which the drive band runs) the bobbin whorl, which has a smaller radius than the flyer whorl, turns slightly faster. Thus both the flyer and bobbin rotate to twist the yarn, and the difference in speed continually winds the yarn onto the bobbin. Generally the speed difference or "ratio" is adjusted by the size of the whorls and the tension of the drive band.
The drive band on the double drive wheel is generally made from a non-stretch yarn or twine; candlewick is also used.
Single drive
![Spinningwheel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Spinningwheel.JPG)
A single drive wheel has one drive band that the flywheel and the flyer, and a short tension band which goes only over the bobbin. The tension band adds an adjustable amount of drag to the bobbin and thereby increases the yarn take up force.
If the tension band were extremely tight and the bobbin could not rotate at all, yarn would be taken up onto the bobbin by the rotation of the flyer constantly at a rate of one wrap per revolution of the flyer. In practice, the tension is set such that the bobbin can slip, but with some drag, generating the differential rate of rotation between the flyer and the bobbin. This drag is the force which winds new yarn onto the bobbin.
While the spinner is making new yarn, the bobbin and the flyer turn in unison, driven by the single drive band. When the spinner feeds the yarn onto the bobbin, the drag on the flyer slows it and thus the yarn winds on. The tighter the tension band is, the more pull on the yarn, because the more friction the bobbin has to overcome to turn in sync with the flyer.
Upright style
![Kolovrátek](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Kolovr%C3%A1tek.JPG)
When the spindle or flyer is located above the wheel, rather than off to one side, the wheel is said to be an upright wheel. This type of wheel is often more compact, thus easier to store. Some upright wheels are even made to fold up small enough that they fit in carry-on luggage at the airport. An Irish castle wheel is a type of upright in which the flyer is located below the drive wheel.
Electric spinning wheel
Electric spinning wheels or e-spinners are powered by an electric motor rather than via a treadle. Some require mains power while others may be powered by a low-voltage source, such as a rechargeable battery. Most e-spinners are small and portable.
One of the attractions of an e-spinner is that it is not necessary to coordinate treadling with handling the fibre (drafting), so it is generally easier to learn to spin on an e-spinner than a traditional treadle-style spinning wheel. E-spinners are also suitable for spinners who have trouble treadling for various reasons.
Importance
![La dernière Fileuse de mon village, Fouace](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/La_derni%C3%A8re_Fileuse_de_mon_village%2C_Fouace.jpg)
The spinning wheel increased the productivity of thread making by a factor of greater than 10. Medieval historian
Lynn Townsend White Jr.
Lynn Townsend White Jr. (April 29, 1907 – March 30, 1987) was an American historian. He was a professor of Middle Ages, medieval history at Princeton University, Princeton from 1933 to 1937, and at Stanford University, Stanford from 1937 to 194 ...
credited the spinning wheel with increasing the supply of rags, which led to cheap
paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...
, which in turn was a factor in the development of
printing
Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ea ...
.
It was fundamental to the cotton textile industry prior to the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the
spinning jenny
The spinning jenny is a multi-spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of textile manufacturing during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764 or 1765 by James Hargreaves in Stanhill ...
and
spinning frame
The spinning frame is an Industrial Revolution invention for spinning thread or yarn from fibres such as wool or cotton in a mechanized way. It was developed in 18th-century Britain by Richard Arkwright and John Kay.
Historical context
In 17 ...
, which displaced the spinning wheel during the Industrial Revolution.
The spinning wheel was a precursor to the
spinning jenny
The spinning jenny is a multi-spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of textile manufacturing during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764 or 1765 by James Hargreaves in Stanhill ...
, which was widely used during the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. The spinning jenny was essentially an adaptation of the spinning wheel.
Culture
![Kiikka](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Kiikka.vaakuna.svg)
The ubiquity of the spinning wheel has led to its inclusion in the art, literature and other expressions of numerous cultures around the world, and in the case of South Asia it has become a powerful political symbol.
Political Symbolism
![Gandhi spinning](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Gandhi_spinning.jpg)
Starting in 1931, the traditional spinning wheel became the primary symbol on the flag of the Provisional Government of Free India.
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
’s manner of dress and commitment to hand spinning were essential elements of his philosophy and politics. He chose the traditional loincloth as a rejection of Western culture and a symbolic identification with the poor of India. His personal choice became a powerful political gesture as he urged his more privileged followers to copy his example and discard—or even burn—their European-style clothing and return with pride to their ancient, pre-colonial culture. Gandhi claimed that spinning thread in the traditional manner also had material advantages, as it would create the basis for economic independence and the possibility of survival for India’s impoverished rural areas. This commitment to traditional cloth making was also part of a larger
swadeshi movement
The Swadeshi movement was a self-sufficiency movement that was part of the Indian independence movement and contributed to the development of Indian nationalism. Before the BML Government's decision for the partition of Bengal was made public in ...
, which aimed for the boycott of all British goods. As Gandhi explained to
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
in 1931, the return to spinning did not mean a rejection of all modern technology but of the exploitative and controlling economic and political system in which textile manufacture had become entangled. Gandhi said, “Machinery in the past has made us dependent on England, and the only way we can rid ourselves of the dependence is to boycott all goods made by machinery. This is why we have made it the patriotic duty of every Indian to spin his own cotton and weave his own cloth."
Literature and folk tales
![Marianne Stokes St Elizabeth of Hungary Spinning for the Poor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Marianne_Stokes_St_Elizabeth_of_Hungary_Spinning_for_the_Poor.jpg)
''The Golden Spinning Wheel'' (Zlatý kolovrat) is a Czech poem by
Karel Jaromír Erben
Karel Jaromír Erben (; 7 November 1811 – 21 November 1870) was a Czech folklorist and poet of the mid-19th century, best known for his collection '' Kytice'', which contains poems based on traditional and folkloric themes.
He also wrote ''P ...
that was included in his classic collection of
folk ballad
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
s,
Kytice
''Kytice z pověstí národních'' (''A Bouquet of Folk Legends''), also known by the short title ''Kytice'' (Czech for '' bouquet''), is a collection of ballads by the Czech author Karel Jaromír Erben. The collection was first published in 1853 a ...
.
''
Rumpelstiltskin
"Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; german: Rumpelstilzchen) is a German fairy tale. It was collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of ''Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about a little imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a g ...
'', one of the tales collected by the
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...
, revolves around a woman who is imprisoned under threat of
execution
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the State (polity), state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to ...
unless she can spin
straw
Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has a number ...
into
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
. Rumpelstiltskin helps her with this task, ultimately at the cost of her first-born child; however, she makes a new bargain with him and is able to keep her child after successfully guessing his name.
Another
folk tale that incorporates spinning wheels is the classic
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
''
Sleeping Beauty
''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'', in which the main character pricks her hand or finger on the poisoned
spindle
Spindle may refer to:
Textiles and manufacturing
* Spindle (textiles), a straight spike to spin fibers into yarn
* Spindle (tool), a rotating axis of a machine tool
Biology
* Common spindle and other species of shrubs and trees in genus ''Euony ...
of a spinning wheel and falls into a deep sleep following a
wicked fairy or
witch
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
's curse. Numerous variations of the tale exist (the Brothers Grimm had one in their collection entitled Little Briar Rose), and in only some of them is the spindle actually attached to/associated with a spinning wheel.
Perhaps surprisingly, a traditional spindle does not have a sharp end that could prick a person's finger (unlike the walking wheel, often used for wool spinning). Despite this, the narrative idea persists that Sleeping Beauty or Briar Rose or Dornrosen pricks her finger on the spindle—a device which she has never seen before, as they have been banned from the kingdom in a forlorn attempt to prevent the curse of the wicked godmother-fairy.
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
included the Saxony or flax wheel in their
animated film version of Perrault's tale and
Rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
pricks her finger on the distaff (which holds the plant fibre waiting to be spun). Whereas only a spindle is used in
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
's ballet ''
The Sleeping Beauty'' which is closer to the direct translation of the French "un fuseau".
Spinning wheels are also integral to the plot or characterization in the Scottish folk tale ''
Habitrot'' and the German tales ''
The Three Spinners
"The Three Spinners" (also The Three Spinning Women; German: ''Die drei Spinnerinnen'') is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 14). It is Aarne–Thompson type 501, which is widespread throughout ...
''. and ''
The Twelve Huntsmen
"The Twelve Huntsmen" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm as tale number 67 in their ''Grimm's Fairy Tales''. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Green Fairy Book''.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 884, the forsaken fiancée. Other ...
''
Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott (; November 29, 1832March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known as the author of the novel ''Little Women'' (1868) and its sequels ''Little Men'' (1871) and ''Jo's Boys'' (1886). Raised in ...
, most famous as the author of ''
Little Women
''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888).
Alcott wrote the book, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, at the request of her publisher. The story follows the lives ...
'', wrote a collection of
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
called ''Spinning-Wheel Stories'', which were not about spinning wheels but instead meant to be read while engaging in the rather tedious act of using a spinning wheel.
Music
Classical and symphonic
In 1814,
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
composed "
Gretchen am Spinnrade
"" (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel), Op. 2, 118, is a Lied composed by Franz Schubert using the text from Part One, scene 15 of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's ''Faust''. With "Gretchen am Spinnrade" and some 600 other songs for voice and piano, ...
", a
lied
In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...
for piano and voice based on a poem from
Goethe's ''Faust''. the piano part depicts Gretchen's restlessness as she spins on a spinning wheel while waiting by a window for her love to return.
Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...
composed ''
The Golden Spinning Wheel'', a
symphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...
based on the folk ballad from ''
Kytice
''Kytice z pověstí národních'' (''A Bouquet of Folk Legends''), also known by the short title ''Kytice'' (Czech for '' bouquet''), is a collection of ballads by the Czech author Karel Jaromír Erben. The collection was first published in 1853 a ...
'' by
Karel Jaromír Erben
Karel Jaromír Erben (; 7 November 1811 – 21 November 1870) was a Czech folklorist and poet of the mid-19th century, best known for his collection '' Kytice'', which contains poems based on traditional and folkloric themes.
He also wrote ''P ...
.
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...
wrote ''Le Rouet d'Omphale (Omphale's Spinning Wheel)'', symphonic poem in A major, Op. 31, a musical treatment of the classical story of
Omphale
In Greek mythology, Omphale (; Ancient Greek: Ὀμφάλη) was queen of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor. Diodorus Siculus provides the first appearance of the Omphale theme in literature, though Aeschylus was aware of the episode. The Gree ...
and
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...
.
A favorite
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
work for students is
Albert Ellmenreich's ''Spinnleidchen (Spinning Song)'', from his 1863 ''Musikalische Genrebilder'', Op. 14. An
ostinato
In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...
of repeating melodic fifths represents the spinning wheel.
Folk and ballad
''The Spinning Wheel'' is also the title/subject of a classic Irish folk song by
John Francis Waller
John Francis Waller (21 July 1809 – 19 January 1894) was an Irish poet, librettist and editor.
Life
The son of Thomas Maunsell Waller, of an Irish baronetical family, and Margaret Vereker, Waller was born in Finnoe, County Tipperary, studied a ...
.
A traditional Irish folk song, ''Túirne Mháire'', is generally sung in praise of the spinning wheel, but was regarded by
Mrs Costelloe, who collected it, as "much corrupted", and may have had a darker narrative. It is widely taught in junior schools in Ireland.
''Sun Charkhe Di Mithi Mithi Kook'' is a
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
song in the
Punjabi language
Punjabi (; ; , ), sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It has approximately 113 million native speakers.
Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 80.5 m ...
inspired by the traditional spinning wheel. It is an ode by a lover as she remembers her beloved with the sound of every spin of her Charkha.
Opera
Spinning wheels also feature prominently in the
Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
opera ''
The Flying Dutchman
The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...
''; the second act begins with local girls sitting at their wheels and singing about the act of spinning.
Gilbert and Sullivan's ''
The Yeomen of the Guard
''The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid'', is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888 and ran for 423 performances. This was the eleventh ...
'' begins with a solitary character singing while spinning at her wheel, the first of their operettas not to open with a chorus.
Art
Spinning wheels may be found as motifs in art around the world, ranging from their status as domestic/utilitarian items to their more symbolic role (such as in India, where they may have political implications).
See also
*
Ashoka Chakra
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...
*
Spindle (textiles)
A spindle is a straight spike usually made from wood used for spinning (textiles), spinning, twisting fibers such as wool, flax, hemp, cotton into Thread (yarn), yarn. It is often weighted at either the bottom, middle, or top, commonly by a d ...
*
Spinners weasel
Spinner's weasel or clock reel is a mechanical yarn-measuring device consisting of a spoked wheel with gears attached to a pointer on a marked face (which looks like a clock) and an internal mechanism which makes a "pop" sound after the desired ...
*
Spinning (textiles)
Spinning is a twisting technique to form yarn from fibers. The fiber intended is drawn out, twisted, and wound onto a bobbin. A few popular fibers that are spun into yarn other than cotton, which is the most popular, are viscose (the most common ...
*
Spinning jenny
The spinning jenny is a multi-spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of textile manufacturing during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764 or 1765 by James Hargreaves in Stanhill ...
*
National Charkha Museum
The National Charkha Museum is a spinning wheel museum located in Connaught Place, New Delhi. This has been built on the already built garden in Palika Bazaar. It has been jointly constructed by the New Delhi Municipal Council and the Khadi ...
Citations
External links
Demonstration of spinning wheel(Video)
Demonstration of spinning wheel(video)
Hand spinning wheels
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spinning Wheel
Hand spinning tools
Indian inventions
National symbols of India
Articles containing video clips