Spinning wheel
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A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres. It was fundamental to the textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as
An elderly Irish woman with a spinning wheel
Hindoo Spinning-Wheel (1852)
Scene from Al-Maqamat, painted by al-Wasiti (1237)
Spinning wheel depicted in the Smithfield Decretals, between 1300 and 1340
Spindle (textiles)
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A spindle is a straight spike, usually made from wood, used for spinning, twisting fibers such as wool, flax, hemp, and cotton into yarn. It is often weighted at either the bottom, middle, or top, com
Spinning wheel
…this manner to make it longer and longer while also controlling the thickness. Thousands of years ago, people began using a weighted stick, called a spindle, to speed up the process of spinning by twisting it quickly between the fingers and allowing it to carry the momentum of the twist. The spinning wheel…
Modern top-whorl drop spindles. The hook at the top allows these to be suspended and the cop is built up below the disk-shaped whorl in a conical shape.
Spindle with cotton yarn, without whorl, representing the "spindle-shape".
A modern Turkish spindle is an example of a low-whorl suspended spindle where the whorl is made up of interlocking arms. Here the cop is wound around the arms to form a ball.
Ancient Greek spindle whorls, 10th century BC, Kerameikos Archaeological Museum, Athens