Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (20) View all

Fiber tools: skein winder, four arm

  • wcu_craft_revival-6120.jpg
  • After fiber had been spun it needed to be transferred to a skein for ease of handling. The thread was run from the spinning bobbin and tied to one arm of the winder. The box behind the wheel contains the gears or clock which keeps count as the arms are rotated. The spinner could roughly estimate the yardage based on two yards per rotation. The counting mechanism was also called a weasel, and is remembered in the nursery rhyme "Pop Goes the Weasel." The 1800s-era skein winder belonged to Clementine Douglas and was donated to the Southern Highland Craft Guild. The creator of this item is unknown.