Silk Winders

[Ray T]

By way of example, here's a photo' of my Great-Aunt Maggie winding silk in the back garden of her house on Cherry Tree Lane, Sockport. (The photo' dates from the first half of the 20C and there were, alegedly, looms in several nearby houses.)

The 1921 indicates that the silk was woven at home for a firm in Macclesfield; some miles down the road.

[AlanBoyd]

Is that winding, or is it spinning? My AI again:

**Silk winding** and **spinning** are quite different processes, even though both relate to preparing silk for weaving or fabric manufacture.

### Core Difference

- **Silk winding** refers to **transferring silk threads**—already produced as continuous filaments—onto bobbins or reels to prepare them for twisting or weaving. It involves organizing, cleaning, and tensioning existing silk threads rather than creating new yarn.[9]
- **Silk spinning**, in contrast, is the process of **creating yarn from short silk fibres** (often waste silk or damaged cocoons). The fibres are **carded, drawn, twisted, and spun**, similar to how cotton or wool is made into thread.[5][8][9]

### Summary
In essence, **winding** is about **handling continuous silk filaments**, while **spinning** is about **making yarn from shorter fibres**. The former is a preparatory operation in silk mills; the latter is a yarn-forming process resembling wool or cotton spinning.

Sources
[1] Comparison of Cotton, Wool, Silk and Linen Spinning ... https://fyitester.com/cotton-wool-silk-and-linen-spinning-process/
[2] Comparison of Cotton, Wool, Silk and Linen Spinning Processes https://www.gordonengland.co.uk/sef/Thread-Comparison-of-Cotton-Wool-Silk-and-Linen-Spinning-Processes
[3] Types of Silk Fiber https://www.hilltopcloud.co.uk/blog/silk
[4] The Basics of Fiber Processing | Deep in the Heart of Textiles https://textileranger.com/basics-of-fiber-processing/
[5] SILK SPINNING https://hbmahesh.weebly.com/uploads/3/4/2/2/3422804/silk_spinning.pdf
[6] What are the types of yarn material and mean?Which ... https://sixdragontextile.com/new/what-are-the-types-of-yarn.html
[7] The Art of Handspinning Silk Fibre https://sweetgeorgiayarns.com/the-art-of-handspinning-silk-fibre/
[8] Spinning – Knowledge and References https://taylorandfrancis.com/knowledge/Engineering_and_technology/Materials_science/Spinning/
[9] What is the difference between spun silk and reeled silk? https://www.wangusilk.com/news/industry-news/what-is-the-difference-between-spun-silk-and-reeled-silk.html
[10] Spin with Eri Silk Top or Eri Silk Roving? Cathe Describes ... https://www.muezart.com/blogs/muezart-musings/spin-with-eri-silk-top-or-eri-silk-roving-cathe-describes-the-difference

[Ray T]

I’ve always understood it to be winding - I think the spinning was done elsewhere. G-aunt Maggie (and her family) were essentially silk weavers. I assume the silk thread was delivered in bulk and she had to break it down to smaller quantities so she could use it on the loom.