Spinning

Spinning, the process of preparing woollen or other fibre for weaving, is of high antiquity. The most ancient form seems to have been the distaff, on which the wool was arranged, and the spindle, weighted by a whorl, around which the thread twisted itself as the spindle revolved. The next step was to employ the spinning-wheel, by which the spindle was turned. For a long time this wheel formed a familiar object of furniture in every well-appointed house, but it is now well nigh obsolete. Vast improvements have been made by the invention of carding-machines and the spinning jenny, which revolves scores of spindles at once at an incredible speed and yet requires only one woman's attention.