[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Author Index][Search Archives]

[Fwd: Historical spools]



This was on the fiber list, and I thought some of you might be
interested.....

Anne Elizabeth

-- BEGIN included message

Hi there,

Just a note for folks doing historic fiber re-enactment.  While living in
Sweden I saw in several museums, pieces of hollow bone with points on them.
 I had wondered what they were, as they were usually in fiber tool
displays.  Finally, one smaller place had a set up of fiber tools with
projects on them.  It seems the hollow bones with points were a vary early
way of making "braid" either on two points or four.  And it seems to have
been done, exactly like modern spool knitting.  Some of these tools go so
far back that they may even pre-date more complex weaving, though no one is
really sure.  I've already asked my husband to make me a set of these in
various sizes, next time he feels like doing bone carving.  Though you
wouldn't have to have anything pretty carved on them, just find a hallow
bone in the right size, with the points still on it.  The display pointed
out that this was one of the ways that people made straps and ties for
clothing, packages and just about any purpose that we would use for either
decorative braiding and/or needed a stronger tie up than a single or double
ply yarn would produce.  Anyway, I thought it would make a very interesting
part of an early fiber demonstration, and its something that I hadn't
really thought about before.  

If anyone actually has experience with these already, please let me know.

Melodi
On a wet, cloudy and cold Irish afternoon

To send private mail to the sender of this email
mailto:emmel@iol.ie
for mail to the whole list use Reply

To unsubscribe mailto:majordomo@bolis.com?body=unsubscribe%20fibernet

-- END included message