I’m doing a talk today for my Historical Textiles group, and I wanted to assemble some pictures and info about spinning wheels from different time periods….
The first European spinning wheel was the walking wheel. It was hand-operated, and the yarn went onto a pointy spindle. When the Sleeping Beauty legend says the girl pricked her finger on a spinning wheel, it was a walking wheel. Those spindles could be really sharp.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.graysonosborne.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/great-wheel2.jpg?resize=750%2C870&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.graysonosborne.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/walking-wheel.webp?resize=750%2C721&ssl=1)
Treadle wheels and wheels with flyers came along soon after. These were operated with a foot pedal, so the spinner could use both hands. There are different styles. The castle wheel and Saxony wheels were, and are, the most popular.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.graysonosborne.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/castle-wheel.jpg?resize=750%2C867&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.graysonosborne.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/saxony-wheel.jpg?resize=750%2C1000&ssl=1)
One version of the castle wheel allows a spinner to fill two bobbins at once. Originally, idiot male archeologists thought they required two spinners to operate, and dubbed them “gossip wheels.” But it’s not true.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.graysonosborne.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/gossip-wheel.jpg?resize=248%2C500&ssl=1)
Many wheels had a distaff if they were used for spinning flax. Here’s an example of a wheel with a “dressed” (loaded with fiber) distaff, and one bare.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.graysonosborne.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/dressed-distaff.jpg?resize=750%2C995&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.graysonosborne.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/sax_w_distaff-150.jpg?resize=382%2C600&ssl=1)
Modern wheels are mostly castle style, but not entirely. Double-treadle wheels are currently popular, but work the same way as a single-treadle.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.graysonosborne.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/modern-wheels.jpg?resize=750%2C402&ssl=1)
The other type of traditional wheel I want to show is the charkha from India. Made to spin very fast for cotton, they have a spindle (not a flyer) and are hand-operated like a great wheel. They look very different though.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.graysonosborne.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/big-charkha.jpg?resize=725%2C487&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.graysonosborne.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/book-charkha.jpg?resize=750%2C375&ssl=1)
The charkha on the right is called a book charkha, or box charkha. It was invented by Ghandi.
That’s all I wanted to post for now. I’ll do a post on spindles at some point. And one on electric spinners…
2 Comments
Mame Wood · May 20, 2024 at 10:17 am
Fascinating article.
Katie Reed · May 29, 2024 at 6:55 pm
Great article.