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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 length of yarn is measured (usually a
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 length of yarn is measured (usually a skein
Skein may refer to:
* A flock of geese or ducks in flight
* A wound ball of yarn with a centre pull strand; see Hank
* A metal piece fitted over the end of a wagon axle, to which the wheel is mounted
* Skein (unit), a unit of length used by wea ...
). The pointer allows the spinner to see how close she/he is to reaching a skein. The weasel's gear ratio is usually 40 to 1, and the circumference of the reel is usually two yards, thus producing an 80-yard skein when the weasel pops (after 40 revolutions).
Some reels or skein winders are made without the gear mechanism (see swift (textiles)). They perform the same function, but without the "clock" or pop to aid the spinner in keeping track of the length of thread or yarn produced. A niddy noddy
A niddy-noddy (plural niddy-noddies"Niddy-noddy." ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989.) is a tool used to make skeins from yarn. It consists of a central bar, with crossbars at each end, offset from each other by 90°. The central bar ...
is an even simpler version. The wrap reel
A wrap reel or skein winder is a device for measuring yarn and making it into hanks of a standard size. The reel is of a standard size and its revolutions are counted as the yarn is wrapped around it. Typically, a set number of revolutions will be ...
, on the other hand, is even more complex, with a mechanism for standardizing the tension.
The clock reel is a possible source for the word "weasel" in the nursery rhyme ''Pop Goes the Weasel
"Pop! Goes the Weasel" (Roud 5249) is a traditional English and American song, a country dance, nursery rhyme, and singing game that emerged in the mid-19th century. It is commonly used in Jack-in-the-box toys and for ice cream trucks. The song ...
.''''Pop Goes the Weasel'', The Phrase Finder, http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/pop-goes-the-weasel.html
References
External links
* Hand spinning tools {{textile-arts-stub