Cape Breton's Magazine

into a long, continuous filament. Different women use opposite hands for the opera? tion. Mrs. Deveau places herself at the wheel in such a way that it is most comfort? able to draw with the left hand and twist with the right. There was already some yarn on the bobbin, and that gave her leader to start with. If the bobbin had been empty, she would have taken a length of spun yarn and threaded it as shown in the drawing. Mrs* Deveau worked at a treadle wheel, which freed both hands to feed the fibers to the eye of the spindle • one hand drawing the rolag out, the other managing the twisting (that is, in effect, maintaining the constant thickness of the yarn.) The fibers of one end of the rolag are spread a little and the already-spun leader yarn is placed into it (11), and the rolag is twisted slightly to the left between the tnumb and forefinger. Some people work close to the eye but this gives very lit? tle reaction time (time to adjust the thickness of the yarn or to keep the rolag from being taken into the eye before it is properly drawn out). Mrs. Deveau works some distance from the eye with the rolag of carded wool in the palm of her left hand, the thumb and forefinger holding the place where the fibers are joined to the leader. The right hand gives the wheel a clockwise turn and the foot begins a slow, steady working of the treadle. The hands move quickly and the foot moves steady and slow. The spun yarn of the leader moves into the eye and begins to wind onto the bobbin. The yarn is kept straight and the left hand comes forward carrying the rolag toward the eye as the right hand takes hold of the spun yarn just in front of the left and the left begins to draw the rolag out behind the right hand.- Spinning takes place between the right hand and the eye.(12) The drawing out of the fibers takes place between the right and left hands. (13) As the yarn begins to wind onto the bobbin, the right hand moves back several inches along the yarn. The thumb and forefinger tighten and hold back slightly, allowing the twist to travel up the yarn from the guide hook to the thumb and forefinger. The instant the twist reaches the thumb the yarn is allowed to slip and it is car? ried into the eye and winds on the bobbin • and the right hand slides back again. All this while the left hand is drawing out the fibers from the rolag. Practise is the teacher here. If you wait too long you will twist too tight, and if you release too soon the yarn will easily pull apart. Your foot manages the spinning with a perfect steady treadle motion, and you let the spinning wheel do the spinning. 3 • -(S-/aj o /e/z /v/?5A 'e H'cK (10) (11) Cape Breton's Magazine/9