Icelandic Wool Yarn

Grazia Morgano

1 February AS XLVIII

Abstract

This project includes two hanks of Icelandic yarn, processed fromraw fleece to yarn. The wool was combed using two types of combs—2-pitch mini combs and single-pitch Viking combs. The yarn was worstedspun on a spindle comprised of a reproduction shaft made by MistressRhiannon y Bwa and a reproduction Hedeby stone whorl made by me.Documentation for the whorl is available, but Appendix C.3.2 explainshow the whorl affects spinning.

The two types of wool that seemed most appropriate for this projectwere Icelandic and Spælsau. Both are dual-coated breeds dating to theViking Age. Icelandic has been an isolated breed since the Vikings tooksheep with them to Iceland in the tenth century (Robson and Ekarius,2011, p. 168). Spælsau is a breed particularly found in Denmark thatdates back to the Viking Age and was used for making sails on Vikingships. It would be tempting to say Spælsau was not used because ofrecent inter-breeding with other breeds meant to “improve” the breed(make them larger to produce more meat) which means today’s sheephave lower quality wool (Robson and Ekarius, 2011, p. 325), but re-ally Spælsau wool is not available for purchase anywhere I could find.Halfway through this project, someone mentioned having spun Spæl-sau before. When asked where she acquired it, the answer was thather Danish friends brought it in their suitcase on their last visit.

1

Contents

List of Figures 3

1 Creation 4

2 Conclusions 7

A Northern European Wools 8

B Wool Preparation 9B.1 Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9B.2 Combing and Carding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

C Spinning 11C.1 Animal fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11C.2 Flax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11C.3 Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

C.3.1 Spindles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12C.3.2 Physics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13C.3.3 Spinning Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Bibliography 16

2

Grazia Morgano 3

List of Figures

1.1 Preparing wool for combing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4a The first soak in soapy water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4b Wool, looking much cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4c Drying wool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

1.2 Combing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5a Viking wool combs on the left, 2-pitch mini combs on

the right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5b Combed wool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1.3 Spindle full of yarn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61.4 Left hank was combed on Viking combs; right hank was combed

on mini combs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

B.1 Period depictions of textile production . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10a Weaving, spinning, and combing flax. MS Fr. 598, f.

70v, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; 15th c. France . . . 10b Weaving, spinning, carding wool, and hackling flax.

MS Royal 16 Gv, f. 56, British Library, London; 15thc. France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

C.1 A group of virtuous women spinning, c1475, “City of God”;The Hague, MMW 10 A 11, fol. 69v . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

C.2 Woman spinning on the great or walking wheel. Luttrell Psalter,British Library, London; 14th c. England . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

C.3 Pieter Pietersz, c1570, “Man and Woman by the SpinningWheel” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

1. Creation

This yarn was produced from raw fleece purchased online, meaning the woolwas dirty and full of vegetable matter (see Figure 1.1a). The first step wasto wash the wool. This was done in a bath tub with Dawn detergent. Thewool was soaked in soapy water three times, and then it was rinsed. Thewool was then laid out to dry for a couple days. For information on how thiswas done in period, see section B.1.

(a) The first soak in soapywater

(b) Wool, looking muchcleaner

(c) Drying wool

Figure 1.1: Preparing wool for combing

Once the wool was dry, it was oiled with olive oil (lightly sprayed on)

4

Grazia Morgano 5

and combed with 2-pitch1 mini-combs. The question was raised of how muchdifference the combs used make, particularly with a dual-coated breed suchas Icelandic (see Appendix A for more information). Accordingly, a set ofIndigo Hound’s Viking wool combs were purchased. The mechanics of thecombs are very different (see Figure 1.2a). The person who suggested tryingViking combs hypothesized that the Viking combs would allow more of theþel2 (pronounced “thel”) through into the combed wool.

(a) Viking wool combs on the left,2-pitch mini combs on the right

(b) Combed wool

Figure 1.2: Combing

It actually turned out that I could pull more wool off the mini combs thanI could from the Viking combs. I noticed that the somewhat matted parts ofthe þel were more quickly and easily separated by the mini combs, with theirclosely spaced tines, than by the Viking combs, with the wide apart tines.The Viking combs could hold far more wool than the mini combs, but overallcombing did not go any faster with the Viking combs than the mini combsbecause trying to break up matting meant aiming a single tine of a comb topass through the matted bit of wool, and passing that single lock back andforth until it separated, if it separated properly at all. As a result, even afterdoing far more combing with the Viking combs than the mini combs, a largehandful of wool was left on the combs when the smoothly combed wool wasdrafted off.

Finally, the wool was worsted (see Appendix C.1) spun on a reproductionspindle (see Figure 1.4). Z-twist was used because all threads documented by

12-pitch means 2 rows of tines2soft, downy undercoat on dual-coat fleece

Grazia Morgano 6

Inga Hä gg in the Hedeby harbor find were either Z-twist singles or Z-twistwith S-ply (Hägg and Schweppe, 1985, p. 254–255). The spindle shaft is anAnglo-Saxon spindle shaft made by Mistress Rhiannon y Bwa. The spindlewhorl is a reproduction based on the whorls found at Hedeby, in Denmark.The whorl conforms to the physics of Hedeby’s whorls, having a moment ofinertia of 24 (Verhecken, 2010, p. 259). For information on how the momentof inertia affects spinning yarn, see the appendix on spindle physics C.3.2.

Figure 1.3: Spindle full of yarn

The wool combed on the Viking combs was spun separately from thatcombed on the mini combs.

Figure 1.4: Left hank was combed on Viking combs; right hank was combed onmini combs

2. Conclusions

This was my first time spinning from a dual-coated fleece. With the waythe wool pulls off the combs, the first fiber off is always tog, followed by þel.There is a transition point where some of each comes off the combs, but thespinning feels different depending on which fiber is predominant at the time.Tog has a long staple length—the length of each fiber—similar that found inthe longwool family. Tog is smoother and has less grip, so it requires moretwist to hold together. It is much more like spinning angora. Þel is finer andhas more crimp, so spinning it is not unlike spinning merino. I have not spunwith mohair before, but Deborah Robson compares compares tog to mohair(Robson and Ekarius, 2011, p. 168). I can understand this comparison giventhe halo surrounding the yarn.

I did not notice a difference in the spinning experience between the woolcombed with mini combs versus Viking combs, only a difference in the comb-ing process itself and the amount of waste generated.

7

A. Northern European Wools

Northern European breeds such as Icelandic and Spælsau are dual-coat fleeces.Dual-coat fleeces are not homogenous. The short, soft undercoat is called þel(pronounced thel). The long, smooth layer is called tog. Icelandic sheep weretaken to Iceland during the Viking period, where they have been an isolatedlandrace since the tenth century (Robson and Ekarius, 2011, p. 168). Spæl-sau are a breed found in Denmark dating to the Viking Age. Its wool wasused in Viking ship sails. Similar to the Icelandic sheep, it is a dual-coatedbreed (Robson and Ekarius, 2011, p. 324–325).

8

B. Wool Preparation

B.1 Cleaning

Wool, fresh off the sheep, is full of “yolk,” a combination of grease (lanolin)and suint (sweat). There also tends to be bits of grass and other plantmatter stuck in the fleece. It is possible to spin in the grease, but if there istoo much yolk, the wool can clump up (Baines, c. 1977, p. 28). Ammonia hasbeen a common cleaner for millenia, so it is no surprise that 18th centuryinstructions for scouring a fleece call for urine as a source of ammonia incleaning the wool (Baines, c. 1977, p. 30).

B.2 Combing and Carding

Oil would be added back to the wool once it was cleaned to make combingand spinning easier (Baines, c. 1977, p. 30). According to Robin Russo theoiling is to make the resulting combed top smoother and keep static fromforming during the combing process (Russo, 2012). Butter, olive oil, andanimal fat are all period lubricants for wool combing (Crowfoot et al., 2006,p. 15–16).

Both combing and carding fibers were done in the Renaissance. Combinginvolves moving two combs with a row or several of long teeth against eachother in perpendicular directions to transfer the fiber from one comb to theother. This can be seen in Figure B.1a on page 10. Combing would separatethe longer fibers from the short ones, leaving little “tufts of fuzz.” The longcombed fibers were pulled from the combs into a long “rope” of fiber calleda sliver through a ring called a diz (Baines, c. 1977, p. 34). The long fiberscould be spun as is, while the short ones would then be carded to preparethem for spinning. Carding involves scraping the short fibres with wire tools

9

Grazia Morgano 10

(Hale, 1965, p. 79). Carding can be seen in Figure B.1b on page 10.

(a) Weaving, spinning, and combing flax. MSFr. 598, f. 70v, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris;15th c. France

(b) Weaving, spinning, cardingwool, and hackling flax. MS Royal16 Gv, f. 56, British Library, Lon-don; 15th c. France

Figure B.1: Period depictions of textile production

C. Spinning

C.1 Animal fibers

There are two main ways to prepare and spin wool (or other animal fibers).Today, these are known as woolen and worsted. Worsted yarns are the re-sult of combing the wool fibers so that they lay parallel with the short piecesremoved. The fiber is then spun using short movements when drafting (sepa-rating the fibers), and pinching with the hand to prevent twist from enteringthe fiber supply. This is called short-draw (Franquemont, 2009).

Woolen yarns are the result of carding the fibers, so they are untangled,but when the fiber is rolled off the cards into rolags they cease to be parallel(if they were to start with). Woolen spinning is done by getting a largeamount of twist into the yarn nearest the spinning wheel then pulling therolled up fibers out away from the wool in a long motion, so that the fibersare trapped in the twist in whatever position they happen to have been inthe handful. They do not lie parallell, so the yarn produced is loftier. This iscalled the long-draw. There are intermediary stages depending on how muchcare is taken in each step, how much skill the spinner has, and exactly whatresult the spinner wants (Franquemont, 2009).

C.2 Flax

Flax is a baste fiber from the stalk of a flax plant. Flax fibers come in twoforms: line and tow. Tow are the short leftover bits left after the line hasbeen processed and is primarily used for applications such as rope. The longline strands, which are about as long as the plant’s stalk was when it was cut,are spun to make thread for weaving or sewing. Flax must be moistened tomake the fibers stick together. Some people dip their hands in water, some

11

Grazia Morgano 12

lick the thread as it is being spun, and some have other liquids they use.Mistress Brienna Lindsay recommends using the water left from boiling flaxseeds.

C.3 Tools

C.3.1 Spindles

A spindle consists of a shaft and a whorl (weight). The whorl may be placedtoward the top or the bottom of the shaft. A scrap of yarn known as a leaderyarn is tied to the shaft, and the fiber to be spun is joined to the end ofthe leader. Some spindle shafts have hooked ends, while others are simplyrounded off.

Spindles may be used in several ways. They can be drop (or suspended)spindles, hanging from the yarn they are creating. They can be supportedspindles, spinning on a table top or the ground. They can also be used inthe hand, flicked to spin and immediately caught. In the case of a suspendedspindle, a half hitch is used to secure the yarn and keep it from unwindingas it hangs. For supported or in-the-hand spindles, the yarn flicks off the tipof the shaft repeatedly as it builds up twist. Flax being spun on in-the-handspindles is shown in Figure C.1.

Figure C.1: A group of virtuous women spinning, c1475, “City of God”; TheHague, MMW 10 A 11, fol. 69v

Grazia Morgano 13

C.3.2 Physics

The spindle whorl’s mass, width, and distance of the concentration of massfrom the axis of rotation (the spindle shaft) all affect the process of spinningyarn. What they affect overall is the moment of inertia–the willingness of arotational body to begin to rotate. This affects how much torque needs tobe applied to start the spinning, how quickly it spins, and how long it willcontinue spinning.

The moment of inertia and mass together affect the process of spinning.A lightweight spindle with high rotations per minute builds up twist quicklybut loses momentum soon after. Lightweight spindles are usually cited asbetter for thinner yarns, but this is a matter of the thinnest yarns not havingenough tensile strength to support a heavy spindle (Verhecken, 2010, p. 268)

C.3.3 Spinning Wheels

The first spinning wheels in Europe were spindle wheels, turned using onehand while the other performed a long-draw, creating woolen yarn. A driveband from the large wheel turns a spindle, and the yarn flicks off the endof the spindle as it turns. This can be seen in Figure C.2 on page 14, anexcerpt from the Luttrell Psalter. The yarn would then be wound onto thewheel’s spindle manually, as with a drop spindle. Woolen yarns are weakerthan worsted yarns due to their loftier shape and lower twist, so they wereunsuitable for use as the warp thread on a loom and actually banned fromuse for warping in Speyer (Baines, c. 1977, p. 53). This weakness would alsomake them a poor choice for high-stress, high-wear articles of clothing suchas stockings.

Wheels capable of spinning long fibers were soon invented. These aresometimes called “linen wheels” or “flax wheels” and had a flyer mechanismto wind the yarn onto a bobbin as it was spun. The fact that the wheelwound the yarn itself meant the spinner did not need to stop their spinningto wind the yarn by hand (Baines, c. 1977, p. 69). By the middle of the 16thcentury, the use of linen wheel was widespread. A widow who died in 1585 isrecorded to have owned “two woollen wheels, two linnen wheels and a littlefine linnen wheel with frame for fringe” (Baines, c. 1977, p. 90). Modernspinning wheels continue to use the flyer/bobbin construction.

Distaffs appear to have been used to hold wool (just like linen), allowingfor a short draw from the distaff (Baines, c. 1977, p. 88). The timing of

Grazia Morgano 14

Figure C.2: Woman spinning on the great or walking wheel. Luttrell Psalter,British Library, London; 14th c. England

the addition of the foot treadle, freeing up both hands to draft the fiberswith a short-draw, is unknown. Meister Jurgen Spinnrad was credited inthe 18th century for introducing in the 1530s the version of the spinningwheel used in Brunswick, but it is unknown exactly which changes he madeto spinning wheel construction. Some historians believe the foot treadle washis invention. The earliest illustration of a wheel being used without thehands turning the wheel is from 1604 in the Wolle spinnen am Handspinnrad(Baines, c. 1977, p. 91-92).

Yarn is wound off of a spindle or bobbin onto a niddy noddy, a tool formaking a large loop. Ties placed in a few locations around the loop makea convenient form in which to wash the yarn to set the twist. The use ofa niddy noddy can be seen in Pieter Pietersz’s “Man and Woman by theSpinning Wheel” (Figure C.3 on page 15).

Grazia Morgano 15

Figure C.3: Pieter Pietersz, c1570, “Man and Woman by the Spinning Wheel”

Bibliography

Patricia Baines. Spinning Wheels: Spinners and Spinning. Robin and RussHandweavers, c. 1977.

E. Crowfoot, F. Pritchard, and K. Staniland. Textiles and Clothing,C.1150-c.1450. Medieval finds from excavations in London. Boydell,2006. ISBN 9781843832393. URL http://books.google.com/books?id=CY-8T59wHHUC.

Abby Franquemont. Drafting: the long and short of it. DVD, 2009.

Inga Hägg and Helmut Schweppe. Die Textilfunde aus dem Hafen vonHaithabu. Berichte über die Ausgrabungen in Haithabu, Bericht 20. K.Wachholtz, 1985. ISBN 0352919208.

John Rigby Hale. Renaissance. Time, Inc., 1965.

Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius. The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook. Storey,2011.

Robin Russo. Combing fiber. DVD, 2012.

André Verhecken. The moment of inertia: a parameter for the functionalclassification of worldwide spindle-whorls from all periods. In NESAT X(Northern European Symposium on Archaeological Textiles 10), 2010.

16