Sheep to Shawl, Part 5: How to use a Drop Spindle

In this episode, Candiss Cowan teaches us how to use a drop spindle, which is a tool mentioned in the Old Testament and dates back 5,000 years. Every girl in Colonial America had one, and since “idle hands did the devil’s work,” girls were constantly spinning. They even were using the spindle when they walked to fields to bring the cows back to the stable. Not a minute was wasted.

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Candiss Cowan

By Candiss Cowan

New to Ridgefield, Candiss Cowan spent 35 years teaching high school and then retired to follow her passion for all things Early American. She spends her time learning new skills for all things old: quilting, spinning, weaving, candle making, and open hearth cooking among others. She is a woman born behind her times instead of ahead of them.