Dressmaking 
 
 
                     II. Spinning 
  Spinning is the drawing out and twisting of fibres to 
form a continuous strand or yarn. It is not known when 
or how the discovery was first made that certain fibres 
could be spun; that is, could be drawn out and given 
enough twist not only to hold the fibres together but to 
make them sufficiently strong for use. 
  i. Hand Spinning.-When spinning was first mentioned 
in early records, it had reached a stage of development at 
which it evidently remained for centuries. At that time 
the three fundamental processes--drawing, twisting, and 
winding-were done, with more or less difficulty, by the 
fingers. The first improvement came with the use of tools, 
when the spindle and whorl and the distaff supplemented 
the work of the fingers. 
  (i) Spindles.--The earliest spindles seem to have been 
merely straight sticks used for the winding of the continu- 
ous strand which the fingers had made by draWing out and 
twisting the fibres. This strand was kept from unwinding 
by tying it about the stick or fastening it in a notch at one 
end. Later the spindle was made to assist the work of the 
fingers in both the drawing and the twisting. After the 
fibres were attached to it, it was given a twirl and allowed 
to fall to the ground. In twirling, it twisted the fibres 
together into a strand, which was drawn out as the spindle 
fell. After a sufficient length had been twisted and drawn 
it was wound on the spindle and fastened, The spindle 
was then set twirling again and the operation repeated. 
  It was soon seen that the spindle fell more quickly and 
easily when it had yarn wound on it, so a weight, called 
a whorl, was added. It was probably, at first, of mud, 
clay, or stone. Later both spindle and whorl were made 
of wood, bone, and metal and much ornamented. 
  (2) Distaff, or rock. This was also a stick and carried 
the raw fibre. It was generally tucked under the arm or 
worn in the belt. This facilitated the work somewhat, as 
it left both hands free to draw out the fibres and operate 
the spindle. 
 
 
54