School: Kilteevan (roll number 14966)
- Location:
- Kilteevan, Co. Roscommon
- Teacher: Patrick Ryan
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0260, Page 024
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- XML School: Kilteevan
- XML Page 024
- XML “Spinning and Weaving”
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- About seventy years ago there was a spinning wheel in almost every house.
Flax was then extensively grown; when pulled it was step in water for about fourteen days, then it was spread out to dry, and when thoroughly dry it was broken up by pounding. It was then hackled and teased until it became tow. A number of families used to co-operate in this work which was generally done at night. The young people, boys and girls, visited each house in turn and prepared the flax for spinning. They enjoyed themselves whilst working by telling stories, singing, joking and they generally finished up with some step-dancing. The tow was then spun into thread and woven into cloth.
A hand loom was used for this purpose, which was a wooden frame used to stretch the warp. The long threads running from end to end was called the warp and the cross or interlacing threads the weft. A shuttle was used to interlace the threads. Other parts of the loom were the bobbin, the reel and the lathe.
Wool is also manufactured into cloth and spun into yarn from which socks & stockings(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Peter Hanly
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Ballinaboy, Co. Roscommon
