View the highlights & photographs from our current issue.

Current Issue #52 - April 2006

In this issue we will learn about that often overlooked tool used in flax processing, the hackle, also called a hatchel or a hetchel. Unusual hand yarn winders known as niddy-noddies will also be presented. We will look at a Turkish wheel and how it works plus some other textile tools from Turkey. Then we will discover how a mystery about a spinning wheel was solved.

A Dominy Family Textile Tool
by Charles F. Hummel

Because Charles Hummel has been studying the Dominy family of craftsman from East Hampton, NY, for many years, he was excited when tool-collecting friends arranged for him to see a Dominy hatchel. Although the Dominy account books list spinning wheels and other textile tools, no other examples have been found.

Dominy family hatchel

Detail of initial stamp "ND" and date 1822

Decorated Hetchels - Part 1
by Ron Walter

Ron Walter has begun an ambitious project, to compile a database of decorated hetchels. In this first article, he will tell a little about his research and show examples of the earliest hetchels that he has found. Later articles will tell about some of the people who made these tools.

Hetchel marked 17 KR 61 / 5M KR 21 / VI with a brass-wrapped tine board

Hetchel marked 1738 on decorated tin around the tine board

Hetchel marked ANDREAS KETEREL / 1751

Musical Niddy-Noddie
by Keith Tornheim and Susan Tornheim

Keith Tornheim enjoys attending the Brimfield, MA, antiques fairs. Last year he found three unusual niddy-noddies, supposedly from Sweden. He and Susan Tornheim, our copy editor, describe the unusual features of these hand tools for making skeins.

Three niddy-noddies
Collection of Keith and Susan Tornheim

Detail of niddy-noddy #1

Detail of niddy-noddy #2

Detail of niddy-noddy #3

A Skinner-Style Bobbin Winder
by Michael Taylor

Michael Taylor found a bobbin winder that closely resembles the Skinner patented spinning wheel he described in Issue #50. He discusses the similarities and the differences.

Skinner-style bobbin winder
Collection of Michael Taylor

The Turkish Wheel
by Grant Betzner

Grant Betzner had an opportunity to study two small Turkish wheels and describes their unusual structure. These wheels require a slightly different spinning technique, which he also explains and illustrates.

Turkish spinning wheel
Collection of Grant Betzner

Path of the yarn over the flyer from the back

Spinning on the Turkish wheel

Two Turkish Textile Tools
by Susie Henzie

Susie Henzie looked in her extensive collection of spinning and weaving tools and found two unusual ones that also came originally from Turkey. One is for use on a loom and the other for making rope.

Iron Turkish temple
Collection of Susie Henzie

Turkish Yarn Twister
Collection of Susie Henzie

A German Double-Flyer Spinning Wheel
by Florence Feldman-Wood

When Noel La Fortune contacted me about her double-flyer spinning wheel, she said that on the bottom it had parts of a strange German poem about spinning. With help from a friend of hers, who photographed it, and from a friend of mine, who translated it, we were able to solve this little mystery.

German Double-Flyer Spinning Wheel
Collection of Noel La Fortune