Spinning Wheel Demonstration
DEMONSTRATION FRIDAY/ JULY 10TH, 2020
Hi everyone! For todays demo day we were lucky enough to have one of our dedicated volunteers Doris show us how the spinning wheel works.
First we wanted to give you guys a little bit of what we learned while discussing and researching the topic.
To begin lets talk about the physical structure of the spinning wheel. The spinning wheel consists of many moving parts that are all needed to reach the desired end result of turning fibres into thread. The “Mother of All” refers to an entire section of the spinning wheel. It holds the “Maidens”, the “Flyer”, the “Bobbin” and the “Orifice”. The “Flyer” has hooks that direct the yarn onto the “Bobbin” and the tread gets pulled by the wheel through the “Orifice” and then is spun on the “Flyer” and onto the “Bobbin”.
At the wheel end of the spinning wheel there is the “drive wheel”, which moves the “Flyer”. The “drive wheel” is connected to the foot peddle by what is called a “Footman”, which moves the wheel as you push on the foot peddle.
Diagram of a Spinning Wheel
The spinning wheel was a very important tool on the Homestead. It would allow the settlers to turn fibres from plants and animal hair into thread that they could then make clothes from. Especially in the early days when it was hard to get resources from the cities and Britain, having a spinning wheel and knowing how to use it was essential. Girls from a young age would be taught how to use the spinning wheel, as it was a skill that required much practice to learn.
The spinning wheel that you will see Doris demonstrating is one that was donated to The O’Hara Homestead, we don’t know how old it is but it is definitely on the older side, likely one from the 1800s or prior. Doris is spinning Mohair from an Angora Goat into thread in the video, today many people who spin would use alpaca wool!
Once the thread is made on the spinning wheel it can be turned into many things. From sweaters to socks and everything in between, the spinning wheel was the first stop on the journey to making their own clothes for the settlers.
To watch Doris demonstrate the wheel click the button below! You can also often see spinners at work on our Heritage Day!