A spindle (sometimes called a drop spindle) is a wooden spike weighted at one end with a wheel and an optional hook at the other end. It is used for spinning wool and other fibres into thread. Spindles or parts of them have been found in very, very old archaelogical sites; they may represent one of the earliest pieces of technology available to humankind. A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is a organic material found as the primary content of the stems of woody plants, especially trees, but also shrubs. ... Cones of yarn for industrial use Spinning is the process of creating yarn (or thread, rope, cable) from various raw fiber materials. ... Long and short hair wool at the South Central Family Farm Research Center in Boonesville, AR Wool is the fiber derived from the hair of domesticated animals, usually sheep. ... For the meaning of fiber in nutrition, see dietary fiber. ... Yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibers, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, knitting, weaving and ropemaking. ... Technology (Gr. ...

Modern spindles are typically available in high-whorl or low-whorl types. In a high-whorl spindle, the whorl sits very close to the top of the shaft, which is anywhere from 15-45cm long. A hook is placed on the top of the shaft to secure the developing yarn, and the newly-spun yarn is wound around the shaft underneath the whorl. In a low-whorl spindle, the whorl sits near the bottom of the shaft. The newly spun yarn is wound around the shaft just above the whorl, and then passed over the whorl, hitched around the tip of the shaft, brought back up to the top of the shaft, and hitched there again to stabilize it for further spinning.

Other forms of spindles include supported spindles, such as the large Navajo spindle and the tiny cotton-spinning tahkli. The spinning wheel is also used for the same purpose. Cotton is a soft fiber that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to the tropical and subtropical regions of both the Old World and the New World. ... A spinning wheel is a device for making thread or yarn from fibrous material such as wool or cotton. ...

Referred to in the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty; the princess (leading lady) pricks her finger on such a spindle and falls asleep before a handsome prince finds and kisses her. A spindle was such a universal object (as a pair of scissors would be now), that the king's ban upon all spindles in the kingdom was immediately recognized as a useless precaution. A fairy tale is a story, either told to children or as if told to children, concerning the adventures of mythical characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others. ... Sleeping Beauty (La Belle aux bois dormant) is a fairy tale classic, the first in the set published in 1697 by Charles Perrault, Contes de ma Mère lOye (Mother Goose Tales). Elements of the story are contained in Giambattista Basiles Pentamerone (published 1634), in the tale Sun, Moon...

See also

• Timeline of clothing and textiles technology