Early American Textile Tools

Yesterday, August 8th 2009, I was awarded a cash Scholarship for the study of Scottish domestic weaving from 1700 - 1850 both in Scotland and this country.

I am quite excited about the project as it will further both my skills in weaving as I learn to weave tartans and linen, and my knowledge of Scottish Highland life and the immigration here to America.

By this time next year my goal is to have spun and woven period clothing, to uncover Scottish weavers here in NY and to identify Scottish spinning wheels ( maybe even a loom ).

I will also study natural dyeing with plant materials to dye the clothing fabric I weave. I'm anxious to get started!!

At the end of July I travelled to Vermont to spend a few days with Kate Smith of Eaton Hill Textile Works.

Kate is well known for her weaving of period textiles on hand looms. Specifically centuries old barn frame looms ( also using period accessories ).

Her studio is housed in a two story barn, and contains nine barn frame looms all in working order and ready to use if not all ready being used.

I arrived on Friday evening and got to visit the studio, taking plenty of pictures of what I considered to be a dream land.

Saturday morning we got started - Kate wound the warp for the Venetian Carpet and set me to winding the warp for  a dish towel.

Using a huge wapring board, I was taught how to wind that warp without tears, and it was excellent!

Then I got to try my hand at weaving a cotton napkin. It was very fine threads set at 30 ends per inch. I am sure I've never done anything that fine to date. Using a temple and an end feed shuttle with pirn, I got more of an education. These things were new to me, but I found out very quickly how useful they truely are.

Kate also showed me how to throw and catch the shuttle more efficiently so that it was no time before I was treadling, throwing and beating with a nice rythm and making great progress on the napkin.

Note to self: Once home, order and end feed shuttle and temple!

On Sunday we ( Kate... I looked on ) warped the loom for the Venetian Carpet. Again, an excellent lesson with a lot of great tips for warping without tears.  She makes it look so easy, it's amazing.

Then I began to actually weave the carpet - whoa....! Because of it's close sett ( 28 threads

to the inch) and the nature of wool thread being hairy, it was very, very difficult to open the shed. I needed every bit of strength I had to push down one treadle, lift two harnesses, insert the sword, clear the shed, then insert the shuttle. Despite that ( maybe because of it ) I found that I love weaving Venetian Carpet!

I would recommend that anyone wanting to learn period weaving on barn frame looms invest the time and money to see Kate.

Aside from the great weaving experience, my accomodations would rival the best country style bed and breakfast.

The location was idylic, with pastures, forrests and farms as far as the eye could see. Quite, peaceful and comfortable to be sure.

Be sure to check out my pictures.

Kathryn

Shearing has finally slowed down though I hate to stop!

I really love shearing sheep - it challenges me on so many levels. This year I've done about 80 since the end of shearing school in early March.

Not bad for an old lady.

My goal is to do 1,000 by the time I'm 60. Only about 900 to go!

Lambing in full swing.

We had 13 lambs all together. One little ewe died shortly after birth, but her twin brother is doing quite nicely.

The final tally is 9 ram lambs and three ewe lambs.

I am glad that lambing is over for the time being.

Now the shearing season starts. I have 15 of my own sheep to do! Think of all that hand spinning fiber!

In October of 2008 I made a second trip back to Long Island to finish up the work I had begun at the East Hampton Historic Society in May.

It was another full five day trip.

I was able to document a number of hand cards, flax hatchels and Great Wheel spindles, among other things.

What a wonderful and diverse collection of early textile tools!

After much data collection and communication with Winterthur Museum in Deleware, it has been concluded that the Great Wheel donated by the Strong family to East Hampton Historical Society can be attributed to Nathaniel Dominy V.

Conclusive evidence that would prove the wheel made by Nathaniel V is absent, but the records in the Dominy account books indicate a sale of a wool wheel on August 14,1821 for 19 shilllings, to Thomas Strong of East Hampton.

According to the donor, the wheel had been in the family since it's purchase.

Based on these facts, it is safe to say the wheel can be attributed to the Dominy workshop. We cannot say it is definately a Dominy.

Because the Dominys' didn't sign their wheels, we may never have definite proof.

Charles Hummel, author of "With Hammer in Hand" , a book on the life and work of three generations of Dominys' in East Hampton, and curator of the Dominy Collection in Winterthur Museum, looked at photos and tracings obtained to arrive at his conclusion that we may attribute the wheel to Nathaniel V.

Thanks to Charles, Winterthur, East Hampton Historical Society and the Strong family for their help in identifying what till now has been an elusive Dominy spinning wheel.

In May I left home and livestock to do a week of consulting work on site at the East Hampton, Long Island site.

This article features a discovery of importance ( among several other discoveries without the local provenance) and tells the story nicely.

http://easthamptonstar.com/dnn/Arts/MATERIALCULTURE/tabid/5862/Default.aspx

Kathryn

On the topic of Great Wheels,

In my Wordpress Blog I stated that it was incorrect to spin the drive wheel from the spoke, but rather the hub was intended for that purpose.

However, since then I have tried spinning the drive wheel from the hub of several different Great Wheels, and have rethought that position.

I have seeen the size of hubs vary widely and for me, both the size of the hub, and the height at which it stands, cause discomfort after a very short period of time.

Further, it's almost second nature to simply reach out and turn the wheel by the spoke, not that this alone would suggest the intended use of the spoke as the turning tool.

Also, I haven't seen any Great Wheels with broken spokes due to overuse of the spoke as a turning mechanism. I don't think turning the wheel via the spoke is detrimental to the spoke.

Maybe that's why some wheels have spokes turned to be thicker in certain places i.e. nearer the rim, or a few inches from it? Could it be a design feature intended to support the spinners' use of the spoke while minimizing any chance of potential damage, or simply a creative feature to add distinction to a mudane tool of daily use?

Most broken spokes I encounter are due to something breaking the rim or wheel first.

By the same token I can say I see very few wheels with worn spokes either. But I have encountered wheel boys with clear signs of wear.

I also stated that the correct technique for drawing the fiber included a sidewards as well as backwards motion.

I still hold this to be the more accurate technique as opposed to a simple back and forth motion.

I think that by moving backwards and sidewards you got a greater distance, and if using a wheel boy the reach was still do-able. If not using a wheel boy, then once the spinner could no longer reach the wheel to turn it, she reveresed direction for the wind on.

This would also prevent any tendency for a spindle to twist inadvertantly by keeping the yarn on the very tip of the spindle.

Last, I don't think spinners took their leisurely time with the process, but were inclined to get down to business and put as much twist into the yarn as quickly as possible by really giving the drive wheel a good turn that allowed it to spin fast and long.

Kathryn

Questions or comments welcome - visit the "contact me" page.

While I especially like the Great Wheels, I also have a soft spot for the small wheels as well.

Great Wheels were used in a manner that required the spinner to stand and walk back and forth, while the smaller saxony wheels were designed to work while the spinner sat and treadled.

Knowing this, I had to ask myself, why then would someone want to buy a Great wheel in the 1800s' ? It would stand to reason that the newer technology would have been preferable.

Several ideas come to mind. One is that in rural undeveloped areas, people still used the "old" ways, and didn't give much thought to improvements over that way of life.

Such seems to be the case in some rural places of Appalachia for instance.

Another thought occured to me though; while saxony or "flax" wheels were made to be used while seated and were less taxing on the spinner, Great Wheels were made for spinning wool, hence the name " Wool Wheel."

People who wanted to spin primarily wool, used a wool wheel. Those wanting to spin flax, used saxony or flax wheels. Simple as that.

Today, modern spinners can spin a variety of fibers on one wheel, with the invention of large orifice flyers etc. and the use of the Great Wheel has all but died out. It's large size and the skill required to use it, rendered it obsolete I'm afraid.

While it's possible to spin either fiber on either wheel, the wheels of yesteryear were wooden machines - not props for a hobby. Each machine was specific to it's task and worked at its best when doing what it was designed to do.

So, even in the late 1800s' people still bought Great Wheels, instead of flax wheels.

Kathryn

Because I live in New York state, I am most interested in finding spinning and weaving tools made here, but love finding ones from just about anywhere.

The Alpheus Webster spinning wheel is an unusual design and a variation of several wheels. One being the double wheel spinning wheel. Many of these wheels had solid drive wheels. And it's somewhat of a variant on the Connecticut Chair wheel, though you may have to use your imagination a bit for that comparison.

Check out the photo album for the latest pics on these wheels.