Carding and spinning

18th century cartoon of an old woman at her spinning wheel.

Carding and spinning of the wool was usually an activity done by people in their own homes. Master weavers would deliver wool to families living in the many villages around Witney (as far away as Aldsworth in Gloucestershire) and at the same time collected the finished yarn made up from the previous delivery [1]. Horses were used to deliver the wool instead of waggons because they were better able to travel up the small tracks and roads to the isolated cottages. The weavers paid the carders and spinners piecework rates such as one penny for every pound in weight of yarn they produced.

Short and fine wool was carded by pulling or working it between two hairbrush-like bats set with wire teeth, which turned it into soft and fluffy mass that could be rolled into a 'sliver' ready for spinning. Long and coarse wool had to be combed out to straighten the fibres before it could be spun. The men and boys of the house often did the carding and combing, especially in the winter months when there was less agricultural work available for them to do [2].

Spinning was carried out by the young girls and women of the family using a spinning wheel (these were introduced in the 13th century). The spinner used the wheel to draw out and twist the loose slivers of wool until they were fine and strong enough to use as thread. This was worked up into bundles called 'pads', ready for collection by the weavers.

Clare Sumner