All About Spinning Wheels

The origin of the spinning wheel

A spinning wheel is actually a particular device that is used for spinning thread or yarns fro fibers that are either synthetic or natural. The first spinning wheels came from Baghdad in 1237, in China in 1270, and lastly, in Europe in 1280.

Moreover, according to evidence, spinning wheels have already been widely used in the Middle East and in China back in the eleventh century. Based on the diary of Irfan Habib, the first spinning wheel was brought to India from an Iranian entrepreneur back in the thirteenth century.

Replacing other methods

The spinning wheel was initially invented to replace the old hand spinning device and its spindle. The first phase of actually mechanizing the procedure was mounting the spindle in a horizontal direction so that it could be rotated with a use of a cord that encircles a huge wheel that is hand-driven.

The great wheel

The great wheel is a perfect example of this old version of the spinning wheel. The fiber will be held by the left hand while the wheel is slowly turned with the control of the right hand. According to expert seamstress, the fiber should be held at a particular slight angle to the spindle so that there is a wonderful and noticeable twist.

After spinning the yarn, it should be wound right onto the spindle by moving the fiber like as if forming a right angular shape with the spindle. The great wheel was actually famous in Europe back in the fourteenth century. It was used to spin different kinds of yarns until around the start of the nineteenth century.

Different types of spinning wheels

There are actually quite a lot of types of the spinning wheel. The most famous is the great wheel, which is also quite popular as the walking wheel or the wool wheel that is used for very rapid long draw spinning of yarns that are spun from wool itself. Another type is the flax wheel, which makes use of a double-drive wheel that is usually used with a distaff for spinning other kinds of fabric, especially linen.

The next types are the Saxony wheel and the upright wheels, which are somewhat a little similar to one another. They both have all-purpose wheels that are driven by a treadle for spinning worsted-spun yarns. And lastly, is the charkha, which is a native spinning wheel in Asia.

Rotor spinning

Before the use of rotor spinning wheels were widely accepted, all yarns were made by aligning different fibers through drawing strategies and then twisting them all together. However, if rotor spinning is utilized, the fibers that are in the roving get separated, wrapped and then twisted just like the yarn is drawn out of the cup of the rotor.

Hand-powered spinning

Spinning wheels that are hand-powered are actually powered by the spinner that keeps turning a crank for the flywheel. This is controlled by the hand, as opposed to the pedals that needs to be pressed or the mechanical engine.