Tag: craft

In this final episode, Candiss Cowan tells us where the term “spinster” came from, the origin of the song “Pop Goes the Weasel,” and how every girl by the age of 6 was expected to knit a pair of socks for her brother.

Candiss Cowan teaches us how to use a drop spindle, 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.

Candiss talks about how the wool was transformed into yarn on the spinning wheel and what tasks were given to different members of the family. She also comments on the tedious nature of this work and how it inspired fairy tales like Rumpelstiltskin and Sleeping Beauty.

In this week’s episode, Candiss Cowan introduces us to the spinning wheel, which was used to turn wool and flax (which became linen) into yarn.

In this multi-episode presentation, Candiss Cowan discusses the value of fabric in Colonial America. In the North, clothing was made out of “homespun” wool and the quality of the fabric was based on the breed of sheep.