...took a day trip to the national wool museum in the lovely small town of dre-fach felindre having once been in the heart of the wool industry of south west wales
on display were beautiful woven cloth
all weaved on traditional machinery circa 1880-1935
and all still in perfect working order
all weaved on traditional machinery circa 1880-1935
and all still in perfect working order
this is a finishing machine, filled with teasels to brush the nap of wool cloth to make a fluffy soft feel, used for blankets
a traditional spinning wheel needing one person to produce one ball of wool...
...to a spinning wheel that produced 400 balls of wool per 3 people to operate
we learned how the industrial revolution changed the lives of the community who had come to rely on the 24 mills in the town for their livelihoods
and how the need for cheaper production lead to the decline of the industry altogether in the mid 20th century.
happily the mill is in business again as melin teifi and they produce wonderful traditional style wool cloth once again
all be it on a much smaller scale
i had a fabulous day gathering lots of info
and inspriration about the amazing natural fibre
that is
wool
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