Spinning wheel
A spinning wheel is a device for making thread or yarn from fibrous material such as wool or cotton.
The spinning wheel was an advancement on the concept of the distaff or drop spindle; like the distaff, it worked by spinning the material - twisting the fibers into a long continuous strand. Rather than relying on hand-spinning or gravity, however, the spinning wheel used a pedal (or other motivation, such as water or electric power) to turn a large wheel, along which the thread was strung. The motion of the wheel twisted the thread, which was then collected on a post called (after its predecessor) the spindle.
Referred to in the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty; the princess (leading lady) pricks her finger on the spinning wheel and falls asleep before a handsome prince finds and kisses her. In the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin, a young woman is expected to use a spinning wheel to spin straw into gold.
See also: Spinning, Spinning jenny
