Spindle (textiles) facts for kids
A spindle is a simple tool used to make yarn from fibres like wool. It's basically a stick, often made of wood, with a weight called a whorl near one end. Sometimes, it has a small hook at the top. People have used spindles for thousands of years, making them one of the oldest tools ever invented!
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What is a Spindle Used For?
A spindle helps you turn soft wool or other fibres into strong yarn or thread. This process is called spinning. You attach the loose fibres to the spindle. Then, you spin the spindle, and it twists the fibres together. This twisting makes them strong enough to be used for weaving or knitting.
Parts of a Spindle
A basic spindle has a few main parts:
- Spike or Shaft: This is the long, thin stick part of the spindle. It's usually made of wood.
- Whorl: This is a round weight, often made of clay, stone, or wood. It fits onto the spike and helps the spindle spin evenly. Think of it like a flywheel.
- Hook (optional): Some spindles have a small hook at one end. This hook helps hold the yarn as it's being spun.
How Does a Spindle Work?
To spin with a spindle, you first prepare your fibres. You attach a small amount of fibre to the spindle. Then, you give the spindle a spin, usually by rolling it against your leg or flicking it with your fingers. As the spindle spins, it twists the fibres. At the same time, you gently pull more fibres from your supply. This action stretches and twists the fibres into a continuous strand of yarn. The yarn then wraps around the spindle as you work.
History of Spindles
Spindles are incredibly old tools. Scientists and archaeologists have found parts of spindles in very ancient places. This shows that people have been spinning fibres into yarn for thousands of years. It's thought that the spindle might be one of the very first pieces of technology that humans created! Before spindles, people likely twisted fibres by hand. The invention of the spindle made spinning much faster and easier.
Spindles Around the World
Different cultures have used different types of spindles. Some spindles are designed to hang and spin freely, while others are supported on the ground.
- Drop Spindles: These are very common. You spin them and let them hang, using gravity to help twist the yarn.
- Turkish Spindles: These have interlocking arms that form the whorl. The yarn is wound into a ball shape as you spin.
- Supported Spindles: These spindles have a pointed end that rests in a bowl or on the ground while you spin them.
Even today, many people around the world still use spindles to make beautiful yarn by hand.
Images for kids
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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.
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Spindle with cotton yarn, without whorl, representing the "spindle-shape".
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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.
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A grasped spindle being used with a distaff.
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Ancient Greek spindle whorls, 10th century BC, Kerameikos Archaeological Museum, Athens
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Woman spinning. Detail from an Ancient Greek Attic white-ground oinochoe, ca. 490 BC, from Locri, Italy. British Museum, London.
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Eve spinning, the spindle in her right hand: Hunterian Psalter, ca 1170 (Glasgow University Library)
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A Tibetan woman spinning wool in Pokhara, Nepal
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See also
In Spanish: Huso para niños
