Spindle

A spindle is a simple device made of wood for hand-spinning, i.e. twisting the fibres of flax, hemp or wool. It has been known since the Neolithic period and is still used in various parts of the world today. As reels became popular, increasing productivity, the popularity of using a spindle only with a sliver declined significantly. The spindle is shaped like a netting shuttle. A disc, called a spindle whorl, is fitted to its lower part to add weight and thus increase the inertia needed to keep the instrument rotating. It can be made from a variety of materials – most commonly clay or stone, but also lead, bronze, wood or amber. There are sometimes spindles that, instead of a whorl, have a roughened edge rolled out in the lower part. An example of this type of spindle is the piece on display in the ethnographic collection of the National Museum in Szczecin, the working part of which has the form of a ring passing into a short spike. The spindle was generally used with a distaff to which a sliver, i.e. a bundle of fibres, was attached. The spinner pulled the fibres with her left hand, moistened them with saliva and twisted them in her fingers. She would then hook them onto a spindle, which she would let go with her right hand. The harnessed threads were used to weave fabric on looms. Spinning with a spindle was a typically female occupation and a well-known skill. As the process itself was time-consuming, every spare moment was devoted to it. Spinning was associated with diligence and care, qualities that were valued in good housewives. The name spindle also refers to the axle on which the spool of the spinning wheel rotates and to the components of spinning machines. Agnieszka Słowińska