The film shows the worsted-spinning process at Coldharbour Mill.
| machine |
process |
| gill box |
ten tops combine to make a sliver |
| draw box |
slivers combine to make a sloven |
| granny |
yarn is twisted and drawn out |
| spinning |
yarn is twisted and drawn out further |
| twister |
three or four yarns are twisted together |
| skeiner |
yarn is made into skeins for knitting |
| |
or left on the bobbin for weaving |
The first four machines draw the yarn out and twist it together.
The fibres of the wool lock together so that it becomes more and more difficult to pull the yarn apart.
Twist gives strength.
As it's name suggests, the fifth machine - twister - twists yarn together but does not draw them out.
Twister twists four yarns together to make double knit or three yarns to make arran.
If the yarn is to be used for weaving it will stay on the cone after twister.
If it is to be used for knitting it will be made in to skeins.
All this processing has imparted a lot of tension to the yarn and if you were to try to knit with it straight away it would twist and knot and be generally difficult to knit.
So it is made into skeins on the skeiner and humg up to relax for a couple of weeks before being made into balls and sold as knitting wool. |