RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: toby webb on Monday 14 November 22 18:50 GMT (UK)
-
Are there experts on board who might be able to answer whether a spinning wheel for linen differed from one used for wool?
Many thanks for any help. Toby.
-
Have a look at this website.
https://ulsterlinen.com/flax-to-linen/
There are plenty of other websites and videos on the process of producing linen. I used search terms flax to linen process
-
Thank you jc26red. That source suggests that spinning is much the same. Odd therefore that a farm in 1617 had two machines , one wheel for wollen and the other for lenon! T.
-
Could be when spinning wool it left oils on the spinning wheel which they didn’t want to taint the linen or they were industrious and several ladies wanted to spin at the same time. Spinning wheels are not large and wouldn’t take up much space.. Why do you think it odd?
-
Thank you jc26red. That source suggests that spinning is much the same. Odd therefore that a farm in 1617 had two machines , one wheel for wollen and the other for lenon! T.
The household would have spun both wool and linen, with two women working the wheels at the same time. It was probably just a convenience to use one for wool and the other for linen rather than that the design of the wheels were different.
-
From a Google search:
"Most wheels can spin wool or cotton, but flax requires a double-drive wheel with a distaff (holds the unspun fibers to keep them untangled) and a foot/breaking system."
-
They clearly differentiated between the 2 machines and, I think, perhaps goldie61 has the answer. A visit to the most suitable museum might make that clear.
Thanks for all the help. Toby.
-
Quote from the link I posted
“Step 10: Spinning
Depending on the preference of the spinner, flax linen can either be spun from a distaff, or the spinner may simply lay flax fibers in their lap. From this point on much of the process is the same as that for wool”
-
https://youtu.be/Az2VNllZhEE
-
It is possible that one wheel was a Great (or Walking) wheel used for spinning wool and the other a more modern style flyer wheel used for flax.
https://theknittinggenie.com/2014/03/05/youre-doing-it-even-more-wrong-or-how-the-great-wheel-survived
-
Cotton doesn't grow in Europe. I have mainland European ancestors who grew flax, which had two uses.
(1) the flax heads/seeds were crushed in the local windmill for oil, which had various uses, one being for light during the hours of darkness. Due to women wearing long voluminous skirts it was a dangerous task putting the seed heads onto the grinding wheel. During my research I discovered one lady's dress got caught in the cogs, a young man tried to pull her back to safety but both of them were crushed and perished in the wheels.
(2) The flax stalks were soaked in water to soften the outer skin so that it could be removed -the inner fibre being used to make linen cloth. If a region grew flax, then there would be a large field kept specifically for drying the flax stalks. The inner fibre would be spun to make linen, linen being a lightweight fabric for summer. I had a favourite medium weight linen two piece suit, plus I also had extremely fine Irish linen handkerchiefs.